Yesterday was Veterans’ Day. Since I haven’t been blogging to long it didn’t dawn on me until this morning I should probably write something. As a veteran myself I have plenty of thoughts about the day I can share.

I read a post from the Dad and Buried blog titled, “I Won’t Let My Son Join the Military.” It was a thoughtful article about why he didn’t want his son to join and I completely understand his feeling. Having service in the Navy for 8 years and deploying to Iraq during OIF/OEF (Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom) I’m not sure I want my kids to join the military either. I didn’t have a problem with his post, but I feel like he is a little misinformed.

When most people think of the military they think of the Army and the Marines running around, kicking doors in, and possibly getting blown up by IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). Movies like Black Hawk Down, Lone Survivor, and American Sniper paint the military with a “we only fight” blush. They rarely think of the hundred or so other jobs the military has to offer. Many of these don’t ever see combat.

When I joined the Navy, I went in as a Seaman Apprentice. This was a glorified term for Boatswain’s Mate’s bitch. We did all of the stupid shit the BM’s could think of including some cool stuff like sailing the ship. Shortly afterwards, I became a Religious Program Specialist, which is a fancy term for Chaplain’s bitch. I was an admin personnel and spent most of my time getting ready for Sunday service. I wasn’t kicking down doors or riding in HUMVEEs because most of my time was spend behind a computer.

People join the military for many reasons. Thanks to 9/11 there’s an entire generation who joined up to fight terrorism and for the “love of America.” Many of us didn’t have some higher calling or purpose. We went for the college benefits or we had nowhere else to go.

We hid in the shadows. We weren’t special forces but support personnel. We became the admin, the cooks, the supply men and women. We didn’t want to give our lives for our country but still wanted to do something honorable. We went to work, collected our paycheck, and went home. No muss, no fuss.

To this day, I’m not a “God and Country” kind of guy. I love America, warts and all, and I’m thankful for my time in the military but I don’t see either with the same rose colored glasses others might. They made me into the man I am today and for this I’ll always be grateful. More importantly, I am grateful to the men and women I served with and I don’t want to think of my life without them. They made, and continue to make, me a better person.

Do I want my kids to join the military? No, not really, but those reasons are my own. I will say if they do serve I’ll be extremely proud of them and do whatever I can to make their experience better. Since I can’t stop them, God knows my parents wanted to, you might as well help them.

Happy Veterans Day to all my brothers and sisters in arms. Thank you for making me a better person.