Any Military Brats out there?

[11 Bravo]

My father was a career naval officer and I grew up moving from one naval air station to another. Then I was drafted in '70 and served an infantry tour in VietNam. Anyhow, I've seen the military from both sides, the privilege afforded to senior officers, and the life of a combat grunt. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, I still have a soft spot for the folks who wear the uniform. I guess it's that, as much as anything else, that infuriates me about seeing our troops fed into a meat grinder because some cowardly asshole wants to prove that his dick is as big as Daddy's.

[procrastinator]

1. My wife grew up and Aif Force brat....

And my son is currently in the Air Force.

:-)

[furrylitldevil]

2. Military brat right here

Of the 5 parents I've had in my life, 4 of them have been career Air Force. I moved around a TON in my childhood, but finally settled down when I got to my teenage years. I guess that's why I'll never join or even entertain thoughts of joining the military, because of the subconscious damage I think it could inflict on any potential children I may have.

[ewagner]

3. Navy Brat

One of five children of an enlisted man.....also saw my share of Naval Air Stations.....mostly in Florida......Ceicle Field, NAS Sanford, Pensacola (Sherman Field)....

also drafted in 1970...served in Air Force.

heh....you were probably one of those "officer's kids" I wasn't allowed to play with in Kindergarten....it was that strict back then.

[NoPasaran]

4. Army brat

Moved every couple of years until high school.

[auburngrad82]

13. Same here. Constantly on the move.

The longest stay in one place was Germany for four years. On the positive side I got to go places that most Americans never get to go. Germany, France, Holland, Luxembourg, Paris, Amsterdam...

[NoPasaran]

14. The most unusual place we were stationed

Was a two-year tour in the Azores. We could look out the front windows of our quarters and see the Atlantic Ocean just a few hundred yards away. We even saw whales a few times.

[Florida_Geek]

5. Air force brat and Army VN Vet

:)

[KayLaw]

6. Here

My father was a light bird in the AF. I spent most of my youth moving around the globe. As far as I can tell, the Bush people care nothing about military people. If they did, why screw with the Geneva Conventions? It's no longer safe to join the military. Bush and Gonzalez have all but said they don't care if our guys are tortured, raped, whatever if they are captured by the enemy.

Of course, it's not likely they, or anyone they know or care about, or consider worthy, will ever be in such a situation.

[SoCalDem]

7. Albrook AFB & F.E. Warren AFB

raised as an AirForce Brat..

[WebeBlue]

8. Air Force military brat here.

Moved about every 2 years, Southern states (N.C., S.C.), Japan, Okinawa, Southern states (Mississippi), and lastly Nebraska, SAC..don't know what label is given to state of Nebraska..heartland with all that corn??

See website for Military Brats http://www.militarybrats.com/brat.shtml

Learned we could be also called "third culture kids", due to backgrounds more embracing, more accepting of other cultures, why quite possibly more enlightened, more sophisticated, more cosmopolitan. No elitist here, just claiming bragging rights, grin.

[11 Bravo]

9. Thanks for the website link.

I just took a quick look and will definitely head back when I've got more time.

[WebeBlue]

10. You know you're a military brat if..

You Know You're A Military Brat if You…

actually liked clothes at the BX & didn't mind that 50 others were wearing the same thing.

liked going shopping with mom for an hour and a half drive because the BIG PX sold Canoe.

miss shopping at AAFES or the PX.

realize that the latest fashion in the states is not the same clothes you bought on base.

always wish you were back at the last place you were stationed even 20 years later.

answer the question "where are you from" with "I'm kinda from all over the place."

are able to imitate others' speech patterns or accents easily.

are amazed at people who have lived somewhere more than three years

are amazed at people who have who have never seen foreign currency.

are amazed at people who think Frankfurt is some kind of hotdog.

are asked "where did you learn to speak English so well".

are brought to tears by military music.

are 22 yrs. old & trying to find someone in the military to marry so you can get a new I.D. card.

avoid visiting the doctor because you don't trust civilian hospitals.
can ask for a beer in most European languages.

are familiar with old radio shows like "Chicken Man" and the "Whistler."

can bounce a quarter off your bed sheets and have hospital corners on your bed.

can identify ranks and duty station by the stickers on the car's bumper.

can recite all of the AFRTS commercials along with the television.

can remember getting a beer from a beer machine.

can still convert foreign currency in your head.

can't convince a stateside cousin that your Japanese kimono doll REALLY came from Japan.

can't drink Budweiser without being coerced.

conceal your father's rank, once people find out he has stars they'll never treat you the same.

craved to have a class six ration card.

didn't save things so you wouldn't go over the weight allowance of the next move.

didn't see a TV till you were almost a teenager.

don't feel quite right seeing military personnel younger than you.

don't really know how to answer the question "what is your home town".

don't remember the names of your childhood friends.

draw a quick map of the world to show someone where you last lived.

enjoy seeing guys in fatigues on city streets.

every room you've ever had was stark white and you couldn't put nail holes in the walls.

everyone complains about your name being the most scratched out in their address book.

feel like you should be visiting the states rather than living in them.

feel at home on a military base than in town even though you've been a civilian for 26 years.

feel more comfortable living near a military base and get bummed-out when a base gets closed.

find that you can easily amuse yourself for hours at airports, train or bus stations.

get nostalgic when seeing OD Green.

give someone a break because they are in the military.

go into culture shock upon returning to the states.

got dressed up and played pranks at Fasching.

got grounded or restricted to quarters or put on KP duty.

graduated from a high school you only attended for a year.

had a father who was always telling you to "police the area".

had a pup tent in your yard until your parents found out what was going on in there.

had a supply of K-Rations that you traded with your friends.

had Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners in a mess hall

had your introductory speech prepared and memorized for your first day at a new school .

have a collection of bunch of beer caps from everywhere.

have a very best lifelong friend who you have known them for less than a few years.

have been asked just where in NY APO is.

have been hit on at the young age of 13 by men in uniform.

have to explain that being born in Germany does not make you German.

have forgotten how to speak more languages than most people ever learn.

haven't seen your best friend since the last time Dad was transferred.

hear the sound of freedom when military aircraft fly by while civilians complain about the noise.

inexplicably have the urge to move to a new place every year for no reason at all.

keep bumping into people all over the world that know friends that you haven't seen in years.

knew the rank and name of the kid next door's father before meeting the kid next door.

know how great it is to be able to return to base and your little slice of America.

know kilometers better than miles and Celsius better than Fahrenheit.

know that Radio Luxembourg was the number 1 way to keep up with the latest rock & roll hits.

know the words and tune to military march songs.

know what a jump tower is and after a few beers - thought it made good sense to climb one.

know what the "land of the round door knobs is".

left school frequently for bomb scares.

like institutional-style cooking and enjoyed going to the Mess Hall.

listened to Armed Forces and VOA radio for the 1st 10 years of your life.

made better grades in geography because you'd been to the places you were studying.

meet another military brat sometime somewhere and are instantly bonded.

most of you Scout camping equipment had US instead of BSA stamped on it.

most of your siblings were born in various foreign lands.

munched hot brotchen & gummies on the way to school.

never quite finished decorating your place because you knew you'd be moving soon.

notice Tom Cruise outside with no hat and having a non-regulation haircut in Top Gun.

painted a picture on the Berlin Wall before it fell.

panic when you can't find your ID card or passport.

put your hand over your heart at 5 p.m. knowing the flag was coming down somewhere.

refer to going back to the U.S. as going back to "the world."

remember following your favorite film as it made the rounds on the AAFES theater circuit.

remember being able to watch the Super Bowl or World Series live on TV at 2 am.

remember hanging out at the AYA.

start a major portion of your conversations with "when I was in …

stand up and recite the national anthem at the start of movies.

still do yard detail!

still look for you ID card after you've grown up.

stopped saying I used to live in Japan because people kept asking you if you spoke Chinese.

the term "combat loaded" refers to how the movers load the van.

think locals have such a limited perspective.

think of your childhood neighbors Fathers and Mothers by their rank.

think the US seems like a foreign country.

think you see old classmates on every corner, whether you are in Brussels, Bangkok, or Boise.

thought all doctors issued all-purpose capsules for every ache and pain.

thought all pens had "US Government" printed on them.

thought that a firing range made a great playground.

thought that the Quartermaster was the real Santa Claus.

thought vacations meant going stateside to visit the grandparents.

try to take out your ID card when you enter a grocery store.

use words like "hit the deck", "visit the head" and "pogey bait".

used the federal warnings on your I.D. card to convince your cousins you were a military agent.

waited every Saturday at noon for the alert sirens to go off.

went in to hysterics when your grandparents thought of selling their house.

went out and found everybody leaving on Maneuvers.

went to school in a converted POW camp.

were pleased to find upon returning stateside that the locals spoke American.

when after 20 years as a secretary you still think of yourself as a yeoman.

when battleship grey makes you feel warm and fuzzy.

when you first log-in to this www site and get the goose bumps.

woke up to F-4's zooming overhead.

wondered who your new best friend would be as you enroll in yet another school.

you're confused as your fiancée describes watching trees grow large in the yard.

you can recite which aircraft were in service in which era.

you graduate from 12th grade and it's your 13th school .

you had your own punch card at the local Class VI store since you were 16

were in your late teens before you realized flashlight batteries came in any color but OD.

[NoPasaran]

15. Boy, that brought back a lot of memories

I remember when we came back to the states after two years of nothing but the AFRTS TV station in the Azores how fascinating commerical were!

[auburngrad82]

11. I'm an Army brat.

We lived mostly in the east coast states (more south than anywhere). My father was a Vietnam vet. I was a few years to young. It ended when I was 14. The Army was great for my father. If he hadn't gone into the Army (at 17 years old), he probably would have worked in the coal mines of West Virginia.

The Army sent him to college (he was the first of 15 kids in his family to go to college) and he ended up retiring as a major. Not bad for a kid who dropped out of high school to escape the coal mines. He worked hard to make life for his wife and kids better. I really appreciate that. And it makes me mad to see the GOP trying to ruin the life that so many people worked so hard to create.

[kcwayne]

12. Navy Brat

My dad enlisted when he was 17 and served 20 years. We lived in Navy housing my whole life until he retired. We were dirt poor, but since everyone around us was as well, we didn't really notice. I remember one Thanksgiving where we moved from San Francisco to Norfolk, and we ran out of money because of an auto breakdown. Our thanksgiving dinner was soup and bread in an empty apartment on base that had no power because we arrived Thanksgiving day and the staff that took care of the place was gone.

And in return, the military gets people willing to die for some cause which they can never question, and which in today's climate, a bunch of numbnuts who never sacrifice anything wave flags and make accusations of treason for those that do question.

[RaleighNCDUer]

16. 3rd culture kid, here,

tho at the time I didn't know it. Dad and Mom were teachers with DOD schools. Bremerhaven, Rota, Lakenheath, between '61 and '71. After I came back after HS, they went on to the Azores for 18 years, and I, after two years of college, joined the Marines. Pisses me off to no end when some redstate of mind bozo calls me unpatriotic for not supporting the war. Kid I work with quoted ManCoulter with the 'all liberals are traitors', but does he intend to join up and fight?

My heart breaks for the guys -- and women, I have to keep reminding myself in this new era -- over there doing their best to do what likely can't be done.