My standard canned answer is "not like I did it for free."

As far as talking about it,  I used to talk about it with civvies, but right about the time I mention "staring death in the face and giving him the finger" people look at me like I'm crazy.

I won't see a shrink who's not prior service, and I need to see a shrink.



Not to brag or anything, but as extensive as my combat experiences were,  I find very few vets who make me feel like I had it easy.

I usually explain to them that my rule about disrespecting the dead includes enemy combatants, as they were willing to lay down their lives for what they believed in just as we were.

I'm sorry, but I don't think I could handle being a medic.  The firefights and the ieds, I could deal with my own death just fine.  But the death of others is something I still have a very hard time dealing with.

I don't say much.  My last three years in I was 11B (also qualified as 16S) but I've never felt like I was really one.  I spent those years as 11B in a Patriot unit in Germany.  Each battery had a squad of 11B for security, but we were gofers used for guard duty more than anything.  During Desert Storm my unit deployed to Israel, but I was in the one battery they left behind as rear detachment.

I started out as a 16P (Chaparral) my first two years, then re-enlisted 11B.  I went to airborne school and tore up my knee jumping from a C-141 during jump week.  It wasn't the landing, but the exit.  I had a weak exit and the suspension lines wrapped around my lower right leg, whipped me upside down, and tore my knee up.  Somehow I made the second jump that day, but they saw me limping and made me go to the medics, and I was done.  I got 3 out of 5 jumps.   My orders for the 82nd were canceled, I spent six months in rehab assigned to HHC 1/507 PIR, then went to 11B AIT.  I then got sent to Germany into a Patriot unit in Giessen.  That was a huge disappointment after expecting to go to an airborne unit.

Looking back I did have a somewhat interesting time in the military, and when I talk to other vets they often seem to find it cool that I was a 'duck hunter' (SHORAD).  I have come to learn there weren't a lot of guys who were Vulcan/Stinger/Chaparral.  Some of my experiences during my time in airborne school also make for some good story telling.

For the most part though, I stay quiet except around other vets.  At the school I teach at we bring in a group of vets every year to talk to the kids.  One of the guys was a crewman on the USS Pueblo and held as a POW by the NORKS.  I don't talk and just stay in the back.

As long as they want to take guns away from vets with PTSD I'd say seek out some fellow vets you trust first and see if talking to them helps
In the end though if you need some true professional help, please get it

The extent I talk about my .mil service is if I see a guy with a big ass Devil Dog tattoo or something, I'll give him a "Semper Fi bro" as I walk by.

It helps that I am goofy and don't look like a Marine either.

No stickers. No hats. No shirts. No 5.11 pants or combat boots. No beard. No camouflage backpack on campus.

I only talk with other Vets. Even then I pretty much focus on the good times. Im not much for telling stories, military or Police. I cant say I much like hearing them either.

The 4 years I served my country were the best in my life. I saw much of the world and ran with some good bro's. Where Im stationed now I see lots of kids coming in on their way to basic training and Im very impressed with the quality of person being allowed to serve in our armed forces.

Its a pleasure talking to young people who respect their elders and understand there is something greater then their own self in life.

I talk about my service minimally. I open up around other vets, but for everyone else, they can't really understand. I mean i get it, they want to understand, and they try, but they just can't because they never experienced it.

Online I don't really mind but in person it's the opposite.  I don't mention it, even if I meet another vet unless he's a fellow 11B or at least combat arms.  The only way someone would be able to identify me as a vet would be my KIA bracelet but if they recognize that chances are they were at least combat arms.  

To my best friends back home it took a while to talk with them about it but even then it's toned down. When I'm with the boys from my platoon we can talk all day about the good days.

I’ve gotten to do a lot of neat things in a lot of different places.  I enjoy sharing my experiences with people who are genuinely interested.  I don’t want people to think I’m a braggart, so I don’t usually initiate those sorts of conversations…

I keep that stuff to myself unless I meet a fellow vet with some experience.  There are alot of young military cats here, and I really don't care to hear any of their "war stories" from basic training.
It's difficult to explain combat experiences to someone who isn't capable of understanding.  My dad is the only family member who knows anything about my time overseas, and his knowledge is very limited.

First thing I say is that I was blessed.  No one was shooting at me and the duty stations were all peace time.  "60 to "64 with 3 yrs in France and one yr. in Southern California.  Voodoo and Delta Dart instrument mechanic with Laon AB in France and George AFB in Southern Calif.  Almost like a civilian job.

When I was a young man my service defined who I was.  As I got older I talked about it less and less.  I work for a .mil organization that is 90% vets and military service is just assumed, not talked about.

I typically don't let any one know.  If it's another Vet, sometimes I'll chat back and forth and tell stories, but I've found most people I know don't understand.