Americans in the military, what are the best lessons you learned from your time in service?

18 comments

1. Communicate often, think before you speak, learn the facts before you speak, don’t assume the other person has all the information (aka don’t be afraid to over communicate), take your time, and listen to others always.

2. You’d be amazed what you can accomplish when you don’t have a choice. You are capable of much more than you think.

   That being said, everybody breaks. You can be an Olympic athlete, a Navy Seal, or just a really tough nut, everyone on this planet has a breaking point, whether physically or mentally. Find yours before someone else does.

   Nobody is stronger alone. We all need friends, family, some kind of support system, whether in battle or in regular daily life.

   There’s always a bigger fish.

   Never underestimate the power of a good meal, plenty of water, and a good nights sleep. Rest is a weapon.

   Know when to fight, when not to fight, and when to give your enemy a way out.

   The body must be strong, the mind must be stronger.

   Take care of your goddamn feet. You can run with a broken arm, you can fight with an upset stomach. If your feet fail, you’re fucked.

   Murphy’s Law is real.

3. Discipline.

   Kill.

   Rah.

   Chesty Puller.

   Rah Rah.(kill)

   Red is best crayon.

   Rah rah rah.(discipline)

   Did I mention kill? Kill.

4. It’s amazing how little you really need stuff, as long as your basic needs are met. I spent a year away with just two duffel bags and barely missed the closet and garage full of stuff I had at home.

   I learned how to nap anywhere.

   Not unique to the military, but that’s where I learned. Preparation and rehearsals can help a lot. Conversely, I also learned how to wing and speak in public comfortably.

5. nice try, ISIS

6. Your question is past tense, so I’m guessing you’re OK with veterans (not currently active) chiming in.

   Honestly?

   The meaning of a really shitty job/situation.

   Everywhere I’ve gone since I got out I’ve been a happy go lucky dude. When my coworkers are pissed about whatever BS is happening at the office I just sit back, remember my times in the Navy, and smile. Because THIS (whatever “THIS” happens to be at the moment) is still lightyears better than Navy life. And I *never* have to do that shit again.

   So what did I learn? How bad things can be and just how wonderful things (post-Navy) really are.

7. Own up to your mistakes immediately and humbley. You will be viewed in a better light, as more responsible and will almost always be forgiven because you owned it

8. Tough guys start crying when the bullets start flying.

   My combat vet dad

9. The red crayons taste the best.

10. Never begrudge the rain. . .you’ll miss if if you go to a place it never rains.

    Never pass up an opportunity for a good meal or some rest.

    Take good care of your feet.

11. Things can, and will, get worse. I learned to be more optimistic than I was before joining.

12. Whatever you think will break you, it won’t.

13. Don’t cheat.

14. How to not trust the government to do a single thing. Everything takes forever, it’s halfassed, and it’s always someone else’s issue

15. Life in the US is pretty damn cushy, and some people are too caught up in their problems and societal problems to realize that.

    Also it’s easy to think it’s going to be nice forever and nothing bad can happen here. Especially being in during COVID times was a good reminder that the stuff we take for granted could be gone tomorrow.

16. if it shines, it needs to be saluted or polished.

    attach your names to everything you do.

17. Ten years in the USN submarine service, and honestly it’s hard to articulate – it’s an entire culture and way of thinking/living.

    – Get organized, stay organized. (A place for everything and everything in it’s place, clean up after yourself, finish one job before the next.)

    – Get ahead of the curve, and stay ahead of the curve.

    – CONSTANTLY PAY THE FUCK ATTENTION TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS. (If it looks, sounds, or smells funny – investigate. Like the time that little bit of dripped liquid on the floor wasn’t where someone had sloshed their coffee – it was salt water and the first sign of a Capital P Problem. Or the time a faint burning smell wasn’t the oven, it was the lamp in my living room.)

    – Always have a plan. (Hardest to explain… You might not execute the plan, it might constantly evolve due to circumstances, *but* if you have a plan then you’ve thought about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how it fits into the bigger picture.)

18. It will chew you up and spit you out and leadership can get away with anything.

    Also I can sleep anywhere