in a sense of victimhood over their time in service. Trust me, I know what you’re going through. I went through it, too. I saw my men wounded or killed in action and I struggled with the fear that they had paid for decisions I had made (or had failed to make). And I was wounded in combat myself, which ended my Army career far earlier than I anticipated.
when I first came home from the war, I had that same attitude. Beginning in 2006, I served 16 months in Afghanistan, leading an Army platoon in combat operations against the Taliban along the Pakistan border. They were hard months, marked by sacrifice, pain, and loss... but also by a deep sense of purpose and clear direction. Upon returning home to Pennsylvania in 2007, I missed that purpose and direction. I felt alienated from family and friends who I thought could never comprehend what I had gone through. I was suffused with simmering anger and I thought the world owed me something for what I’d been through. But I soon came to realize that it was no way to live. I made up my mind that I was not going to allow myself to succumb to negativity or a sense of entitlement. I got to work. I got married, started a family, wrote three books, and dedicated myself to advocating on behalf of my fellow veterans. I wanted to use the lessons I learned in military service to contribute something more to the world. But this is why it pains me to see some younger military veterans of my generation – and I should emphasize “some” does not mean “all” – who seem determined to wallow
I made up my mind that I was not going to allow myself to succumb to negativity or a sense of entitlement. I got to work
In the years that followed, I saw members of my platoon and other veterans I knew, fall by the wayside – succumbing to despair, addiction, and even suicide. I faced challenges of my own, like a marriage that ended in divorce. I grew bitter as our nation’s political leaders of both parties gave up on the Afghanistan mission and the American people forgot – which I believed was a betrayal of our service and sacrifice. But I came to understand that brooding over those fears, those disappointments, that bitterness – the negative aspects that many service members confront in the aftermath of combat – was no way to build a life. I looked around me and saw veterans who chose differently... who were thriving in their family lives, their careers and their communities. Sure, they hit some rough patches, but they worked hard to choose a
ETTING
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September 2019
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