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comment by white2
white2  ·  10 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Breaking: Pabs Takes New York by Storm

Congratulations on making it out. I doubt anyone here who remembers your path to West Point would be surprised by your success in that career.

You are already ahead of most veterans I know or knew by having landed a career-trajectory job directly after service. Those who struggled the most thought the best thing to do was to take a break and process it all. In retrospect that is the worst thing you can do. It sounds like you aren't doing that anyway.

The further into the past deployment becomes the easier it is to come to terms with. The good things you've gained from military service are already embedded into your character. That will become more obvious after years of working with folks who have never persevered through the harsh extremes you experience in the military, all at the same time; the attention to detail, physical duress, incredible stress, suffocating fear for your life, the bizarre situations you end up in, etc. You might have to smooth out some of the sharp edges that don't translate well into the civilian world.

I had a weird and difficult ten years after leaving service. Eventually I got my act together and earned graduate degrees in both mathematics and computer science. I got a job as a software engineer in Norway a few years ago. I met and married my wife here. Last year we bought a house in northern Norway (Tromsø northern, but more rural than that). I forced my employer to allow me to work remotely; when I go to the office it's a 1.5 hour commute by boat. My backyard is wilderness and I am able to live in peace now.

War is an unfortunate staple of the human experience. Be glad you experienced it, and be glad most of the people you'll be around going forward have not.





steve  ·  9 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don’t think I knew you were in Norway. mike is in Viking country too. I was just there for a visit in the fall… albeit not that far north. 🇳🇴🇳🇴🇳🇴