Is it the sense of self-discipline, the camaraderie or something else? I’m guessing it isn’t the food…
Not having to decide what to wear each morning. It was easy in the military - “I think I’ll wear green today.”
Yeah the ACU/BDU stuff. Spill coffee on yourself? No biggie. Ditto a ton of other stuff, but yeah also what Tim said
Shooting guns is fun. Free ammo!
Riding in helicopters over tropical islands.
I suppose I miss having a job that occasionally involves really cool stuff (like manning the bridge on a surfacing submarine, which is definitely the coolest thing I’ve ever done that I can discuss in polite company). Most of the job did not involve really cool stuff, though, so I’m very happy to be done (and very happy that I did it).
Yeah, there’s occasionally a sense of “purpose” that I think is hard to replicate in the civilian world. Is for me at least.
There were a Few times in Iraq and Afghanistan where I could just take a step back and realize I was taking part in something that was beyond the scope of anything I could’ve imagined before joining …
Sometimes I miss the camaraderie of it all.
That was pronounced when we federal workers were sequestered last year. I felt like shit going home, I felt worse that the green suit folks had to pick up my slack but I was dying inside to be back in uniform there with them…
Having a few hundred friends was nice. Other that…nothing.
Camaraderie. The sense of having a mission.
But the thing I miss the most is the travel. I was single for most of my time in, and spent most of that time at remote assignments. Every year or so, I’d get orders to go somewhere else.
I separated, after 10 years and didn’t retire. I really miss going to a flight line and signing up for Space-A travel.
I don’t miss the ridiculous hours, the busy work, or being treated like a child.
I do miss a lot of my old battle buddies though. I also kinda miss having a job where my physical fitness counted for something.
When I was working in the private sector, I missed the chain of command and having supervisors who could make decisions. Otherwise, absolutely nothing.
“Authority can be delegated, responsibility cannot.”
While not consistently observed in the military, utterly meaningless to the private sector.
Pretty much a part of what everyone has said.
I would add that I am so old that even though there was still the draft, I did not have to put up with all the liberal anti USA BS who want just the perks and none of the responsibility for having it or keeping it.
When teaching, I loved having ex-GI’s as students. They wanted to learn compared to most civilians & foreigners who only wanted to cheat in this particular school.
Also the ability to correct bad habits & attitudes in the other worker bees of the same rank and in the same job & place. < VEG >
QFT.
I now work in a fairly large engineering firm working on a fairly large NASA program.
My major frustration at the differences in management in the military and civilian worlds comes down to two equal parts: no one is responsible to make a decision, and anyone can task you.
At any given time, I have several tasks pending that I’m personally done with, but they require a decision to close out and act on. They’re ususally that way for weeks until some external event lends surprise faux urgency to them, by which time the circumstances on the ground have completely invalidated my work and I have less than a week to do it all over again. And somehow it’s my fault.
I have more dotted-line bosses than I have co-workers in my team. And each one’s taskings are more important than all the others, just ask 'em.
The good news is that I can say “no” and no one will throw me in jail.
My first brush with this sort of thing was when I was still in the military, but working with the State Department. Early on, my civilian boss said something to the effect of “we should turn that area in the basement into xxxx.” Next day, I started my guys in on demoing out the area. The boss comes into my office very flustered: “What’s going on down in the basement?” “Well, you said you wanted to turn that space into xxxx.” “Well, I was just speculating and thinking out loud.” I told him patiently that you can’t do that with military guys, who take that sort of thing as an order. The hardest part of transitioning to civilian life was having to reign in my own initiative and having bosses who dithered over the tiniest things.
I miss the sense of mission - knowing that we were all there to accomplish the same thing. I miss the orderly and disciplined mindset - not that you lost your individuality, but you were very aware of being part of something bigger than you were. At least, that’s how it felt to me.
I don’t miss the political crap of being an officer. Maybe I just noticed it more because I started out enlisted, but the BS in the wardroom and the idea that officers are “better” than enlisted folks just wore me down. That, more than anything, made me resign after 11-ish years.
I miss strapping into a fighter, blasting off, and flying around with my ass on fire. Also very much wish I’d had the good sense to stay in rather than going to law school. I could have retired 6 years ago, with income and insurance for life. Sigh.
Incidentally, the food wasn’t bad at all. Of course, I was in the Air Force, and we didn’t have to deal with MREs often. Hot chow 3 times a day.
I miss being able to trust in the competence of your coworkers. When you told them to do something, they did it. When a job needed done, it got done. Civilians, on the other hand, act like children that need everything done for them. “I hate working with civilians” is a catchphrase of mine.
Even never having been in the military, I have the same attitude as this. Sheesh people, you have a job and get paid for it. Just do your job.
Dad, is that you?
:D:D:D
ROFLMAO - I loved camping one Pennsic with Bloodguard. Household was full of military guys, I asked for a sump for water, next thing I knew I had a 6’x6’x6’ pit next to the cook tent :smack:
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