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In reply to the discussion: Drove by a gun store last night [View all]Victor_c3
(3,557 posts)Yup, I did 13 months, however most of my time wasn't that crazy. We probably saw something about once a week or two. Most of the time it was an IED or a random sniper shot or a single person throwing a grenade at you and those situations were over as fast as they started. I can't really talk like I had it rough. I got lucky and only did one rotation to the middle east in the 5.5 years that I was active duty. When I got out in 2007, most people had done two or three stints.
Trust me, it wears you down and beats you. I didn't realize how worn down and beaten I was until I got out of the Army. Being around fellow Soldiers who had been through stuff like I experienced really helped a lot. Getting out and suddenly being away from the Army environment and trying to make it as a civilian was very hard and continues to be a struggle. Fortunately I got myself into the VA and I'm a regular there.
As was mentioned before, I don't get why anyone would want to play war or watch war movies or read war books....