Personal Narrative: My Experience As A Daughter Of A Military Soldier

One of the most obvious differences between a military child and their civilian peer, is the seemingly continuous moving that is associated with their gaurdian’s occupation. Whether it is moving across the state or moving across an ocean, each move brings it's own challenges and it's own advemtures.

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

I’m a military child. Change was instilled in me since my birth in Spain. My childhood was spent briefly in Europe, the east coast of the U.S, and eventually the Midwest. This change of scenery, schools, friends, and just about everything else in my life led me to be the person I am today. Travelling was amusing and I enjoyed change of pace every couple of years, but it wasn’t easy. I learned early on that getting attached to people wasn’t a good idea and should be avoided in preparation for the next move. This led me to being an incredibly shy child who couldn’t open up to people. The world I come from is an adventurous but problematic one. When I concluded making friends would assist with each transition I found myself too terrified to attempt

Moreover, the military also gave me the opportunity to travel abroad. Living in countries such as Korea, Spain, and Germany and immersing myself in their cultures has given me perspective on the differences between the United States and other countries. Each place I have lived has been unique in some way, from the different languages to the variations in cultural practices. Dealing with individuals with different backgrounds has helped me develop a good rapport with people.

Military life can be a big amount of stress for children. There is multiple deployments where they go through long separations from their parents. Children even could experience a parent getting injured or possibly a death. That all is the reality for children who has a parent in the active duty military(website 1). There is such a huge impact on children’s mental health and high rates of trauma from them experiencing their parents going on deployments. More than two million American children have had a parent deploy to Iraq or Afghanistan. At least 19,000 children have had a parent wounded in action and over 2,200 children have lost a parent in Iraq or Afghanistan(website 1). After all of this occurring in their lives, it then causes a huge change in the child. These changes are lashing out in anger, changes in school performance,

My father, Christopher J. Bufmack , had a career as an infantryman and fought in the Afghanistan war. When he was 16 he left from home to join job corps and he had some experiences as a kid and young adult that impact him now.

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

As a child of a Vietnam Veteran, I have witnessed my father and go through many things to receive adequate support. My father suffers from progressive prostate cancer, Post-traumatic stress disorder, and a depraved back. These chronic illnesses have forced him to retire early and seek help from the government for financial support. He has repeatedly seek help for the Veteran Affairs applying for unemployment disability and have been turn down several times because his illnesses are considered to be common for Vietnam Vets. This has been hard on my family caring for him and finding an extra source of income to sustain living. Living in a rural area there are no Veteran Affair offices, therefore, we have to travel two and a half hours and

Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., wrote: “The soldier is the Army. No army is better than its soldiers. The Soldier is also a citizen. In fact, the highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is that of bearing arms for one’s country.” With the all volunteer military, more and more americans are being disconnected with their peers, and fewer are choosing to serve. The divide between these two americans is wider than ever before. When Veterans try to share their experiences, many people might not be able to offer empathy. Tim O’Brian in “How to Tell a True War Story” constantly reiterates that war stories could be shared in perspective of the fire fights and theatrics, but a more effective one sheds light on the soldier’s ability to make sense

Joining the military was astonishing in very many aspects in my life and it truly molded me into who I am today. I will genuinely say that the most important people in my life are my mother and father. I am not a parent myself but I have had years to only imagine how tough parenting can be; especially when raising three stubborn boys. My mother and father are very open minded and kind hearted to everyone regardless of who they are. I will be honest here and say that I may not have been as grateful as I should have been when I was a younger kid, but that’s just life. When you are younger, everything is very simple and do not realize the little things in life. I had no other worries except for, “What’s for dinner?”. The military made me realize how much I appreciated and very much needed my loved ones. Travelling far away to Marine Corps Recruiting Depot, San Diego California and starting my very own journey was one of the toughest decisions at that time to make for myself.

PTSD. The Army is currently launching new programs designed for children to help them understand what the parent is going through and how PTSD works. Children also face stress from this situation and had nowhere to turn until now. The stress between the parent and child can greatly be reduced now due to multiple programs available for the child, spouse, or a group program.

Growing up I always had an admiration of the military and all the stories that went along with it. In grade school learning just briefly about the wars that happened in our past and ones that were going on in present day time. Watching tragedy’s happen right in front of me on live television and seeing our military take action in no time at all. To being in high school and doing in depth research papers about wars, that opened my eyes so much more to what really happened. I have always had an eye for the military and what goes on inside, where no one else can see.

An article titled "How Deployment Stress Affects Children and Families: Research Findings" estimated that “by the end of 2008, 1.7 million American Service Members had served in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF).” Each person is different. They experience and interpret situations unique to their personality that varies depending on the person, but war produces the same problems for members of the nuclear family. War creates a cloud of worry and anxiety. “Parents of [military personnel] often have misgivings (Lediaev).” These reservations and

My military service reshaped who I am. My training stripped away any sense of entitlement and I learned more about myself in four months than I’d ever known before. It not only gave me discipline and taught me to perform under pressure, but everything I did wasn’t just for me anymore. I was working hard for the marines next to me in my platoon. The time came when each of us hit a breaking point physically or mentally.

For most people, their job is what they do; it does not so deeply define who they are. For families, military life offers a sense of community with clearly defined rules and expectations. Members of the military and their families share a unique bond and value system. The military offers a sense of community and camaraderie unlike any other profession. But it also fosters a warrior ethos that rewards physical and emotional prowess and frowns upon weakness and timidity.