Eric wrote:Was anyone raised a military brat, with a military ethos? ...How has this affected you? Did it make you a better person? or did it cause problems.
Thanks
Eric, I grew up as a military brat. This is because my father had served in the U.S. Army. It all started when he was drafted to fight in Vietnam back in October of 1968 from which his tour of duty was from 1969 to 1970. Then when my father returned from Vietnam, he decided to make the military a career. Soon after his short assignment at Fort Sill, Ok. he was sent to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in which I would be born ( on January 25, 1973) at the Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu on the island of Oahu. As for the following Army post I grew up on were Fort Campbell, Kentucky; Wildflecken, Germany (West), Fort Steward, Georgia; and Fort Wainwright, Alaska.
Then some of the positives of my experience growing up military are having to travel to many places and meeting lots of people. Especially, when I was in Germany. There I had the chance to learn the German language and eat German food (chocolate, Bratwurst, Prom Frites). In addition, I was able to take a school field trip to a zoo, museum, a train ride, and a boat ride on the Rhine river. Also, the other advantages of being brought up as a military brat is that you are in a racially integrated housing area because the military is divided by RANK (between officer and enlisted). Housing, schooling, health and dental care is fully paid for by Uncle Sam. Plus, a military post/base it is generally a safe place to be (you had to have a military I.D. card to get on post at the gate). In other words the military is a self-contained community onto itself from civilian society stateside and a piece of Americana abroad.
However, the downside to growing up in a military environment is the frequent moving around. It is not usual for someone to move around every 2,3, or 4 yrs. And neither you nor your parents can't control where, when, or how long you'll stay at any given place. You'll have no place to truly call a hometown. I've experience a lot of loss of friends growing up. Thus it was very difficult if not nearly impossible to form any close, deep relationships with anyone outside your immediate family. Also, the older you got the harder it was to move and adapt to a new social environment. Particularly, during the middle school and high school years, in which you had to start dealing with established social cliques. Not to mention I went through a great deal of loneliness and depression. So I found myself on the "outside" with very few friends and was in fact labeled "the most shy" by my high school senior class. I just felt as if my mind was on a different wavelength than my fellow teenage peers. So I would often be in the school library reading books and magazines on geography and military weaponry. Also, I would spend time drawing detailed pictures of military aircraft, futuristic cities, spaceships, buildings, etc.
But as far as being screwed up by it, I was not and neither was I raised in the "military ethos". There were some things I took away from the military brat experience and into adulthood. First, it was to always BE TRUE TO YOURSELF. Because when you are moving around and trying to "fit in" people are going to either like you or they won't. You ultimately have to live with yourself. Second, I learned to be open-minded. Being in an military environment you are exposed to many different people and cultures. Because of this you learn not to judge others by stereotypes, race/color, culture, nationality, etc. But by their character. Then finally, I have gained I great deal of interest in world history, geography, politics, and current events. I think this makes military brats like me stand out in a good way is because most Americans tend to limit their interest/knowledge to local issues (neighborhood, town, or city) and as Winston said in his Happier Abroad E-book they lack intellectual curiosity/novelty nor are they as well traveled (outside the U.S.).