Narrative Essay - Original Writing

The life of a military child (brat) is a wonderful, enriched, hard, and learning experience. Brats

After the events of September 11, 2001, my dad was recalled to the military to serve twelve months in Djibouti, Africa. Upon his return, he made the choice to return to the Army, and we were sent to Colorado. In the years that followed, my family was

I was seven when my Uncle Jeff deployed to Afghanistan for the first time. My aunt returned from an assignment in Japan deeply worried for my uncle. Being a vehicle operations specialist, my uncle led a convoy and would be the first affected

impacted my life in many challenging ways. The term military brat is usually misunderstood by

It was a normal day at the house. My wife and I were listening to the radio eating dinner when we heard that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria had been assassinated. A war was called for. Russia, France, Italy, Great Britain, and the United States were going to be fighting against Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. The station called for all young men to come and serve in the war. So I went to the nearest recruiting station and they asked for my name, blood type, and address. They told me that I had the job and I was cast into the U.S. Marine Corps.

My papa was drafted into the Army while living in Wauseon Ohio. He joined because it was his obligation and his parents felt it was his job to serve his country. He recalls his first days of service as being homesick and was worrying that he wasn't going to return home. In May of 1968 he attended Army boot camp in Fort Gordon, Georgia. He remembers that one of the instructors he had was very strict and would yell at him if he did not stand at attention. He went

I grew up in a military family, but I would not consider myself to be a military brat. My father went to the naval academy and started his naval career in Washington D.C. My family then moved from Washington D.C., to Washington, to Missouri. With every move came a new school, and new friends. Once settled in Missouri, my father began going on more navy trips where he would go away for a few weeks. The older My brother and I got, the more the family came along with my father. We would stay at military base inns and hotels. We traveled everywhere form San Diego, Florida, to Hawaii. During these trips, I became comfortable with staying away from home, while simultaneously growing closer to my family. I grew up during those road trips because

As mentioned above the military family members go through many challenges. The service member when deployed leaves the other parent to the care of the family and home. Many divorces happen due to one parent being away from the home for long periods of time and the stress placed on the one parent at home. With one parent left to take on the role for both parents, this can either become a stressor for that one parent or strength building time. The children may receive less attention because the one parent is doing the duty of two. They become self-sufficient during this time. The service member that is deployed is focusing on the duty at hand. This may be patrolling the boundaries of the

My dad served for eight years he wasn't able to be back to see his own daughter born because of it. Even so, I can guarantee she's not mad about it, she knows it was for the greater good, for her and her country.

I have been a military child since birth, moving from place to place, seeing things I'd care to not have seen and seeing man hit rock bottom from a pink slip out the army, but this is all normal for me. My father has an amazing job and he loves his career, even if it moves us from small towns to enormous cities every three years. There was one move that impartially changed my views on not only the army but on myself, when people began treating me differently and staring at me as I walked by. It was the move to Osan south korea, a brand new country that when I first arrived had left me put in the dark and shut me out completely, until I met peoplled the way and showed me the beauty of the country, leaving me with a more open mind to new things.

When he left, a plethora of stressful and joyful situations arose. My parents became very upset wondering if they had made a mistake in raising their son causing him to flee their home. While other days my parents felt as if they had succeeded in raising a son that was selfless enough to commit his life to his country. When an editor of military.com addressed "common experiences that a family goes through during the absence of their family member; concern, worry, and sadness" were at the top of the

I was raised in a military family type environment with my father being away on tour during my early years as a child. This helped created an environment where I was only left with my mother with my father being there for either four days to four months before returning to tour. After my father left the Navy, he kept with him the mentality that he was still there, he would treat us like his patrol by “barking” orders at us and demanding us around. My mother would the mediator of the house and remind my father that this isn’t the Navy but his family. My mother was the one who helped me and my brother throughout our younger years being the provider of our family during the years my father was in the Navy.

My father enlisted as soon as he graduated high school in 1995. Seven years in he decided to attend college and become an officer. Retiring only just this July, totaling 21 years. My mother was with him from 1997 until 2003 during his service. They got divorced in 2003 and my mother was left alone with my two-year-old sister and me three years of age. She raised us alone until my 2nd-grade year when my mother sent just me to live with my father in Washington. This was the first time I was, really, exposed to the military lifestyle.

Many people would say I had it easy growing up; my parents are still married, I never went hungry, and I always lived in a safe environment. But what people didn’t know was the struggle I went through being a military child. I would spend many weeks trying to make new friends, go months without seeing my parents, and years wondering when we would finally settle down in one spot.

on different levels. The doctor would meticulously watch our actions then jot it down into his documents. After the exam was completed, we were instructed to stand in two even parallel lines and wait Three summers ago, I proudly graduated from Samuel Fels High School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Graduating from High School was one of the happiest and memorable moments in my life. I was puffed up with pride as I walked down the aisle to accept my high school diploma. I had all the reasons in the world to be happy. I was one of the fourth members in my family to graduate from High School and my parents were proud of me. In terms of personal goals, I wanted to work for a while and save up my money to buy my first car.