Finding New High Ground

My time in the Corps was short lived, 4 years, two deployments to Iraq and then out, with a brief stint in the reserves trying to get back to active duty, thinking I had no other applicable job skills other than making guns go bang. It was cool. It was also garbage, I've never experienced loss as I did in the Corps. Guys I joined with, guys that mentored me, guys that were friends when nobody else was, gone in an instant. I left with some of the worst experiences of my life. This left me with the need of finding new high ground.However, I'm not going to sit here and blame the military for it. We're all grown ass dudes and chicks. We made decisions and while there is a multitude of people who are bitter and wish things went there way, there are also people that abused the system for their own gain.Sure, we get it. We can all feel uniquely targeted and maligned by the military industrial complex. You knew so much better than your leadership. You may feel it is the military who should change and not you. Look, we all got the big green weenie. If you were part of the machine, and you feel like you got bent over and taken advantage, welcome to the club.You're out now and your disdain over how the military screwed you bleeds through on everything. We're tracking, it's hip to be anti (insert thing here). Some of us though took that time for what it was. Building blocks. We learned a lot about the world, who we were and who we didn't want to be. We saw good, we saw bad, we saw abject horror. But this time as with all things in life, it is what you make of it.

Finding new high ground

It is important to find a purpose to fill the void. Helping your community, donating blood, or even picking up litter. Anything is better than reliving failures and past mistakes. You can't change what happened, but you can navigate to a new objective. What is the ultimate objective anyone who served honorably? Just to be happy. Whatever that may take, set your compass and march that way. Put in the effort of finding new high ground. A new vantage point can change your perspective.If you'd like to submit an Op-ed, email the editor at dan.sharp@gruntstyle.com