Some people (myself included) think that military brats thrive due to the change in their lives. That they are able to get a much more well-rounded view of the world because of how often they get to move and we have experiences that our civilian counterparts couldn’t even begin to understand.
We grow up colorblind, because we can’t be picky about our friends.
It doesn’t matter what the neighbor’s kid looks like — they are there, they are your age, they quickly become your go-to play partner. Because every military brat knows that at any moment, you or the neighbor are going to move and it will be time to start again.
We don’t pick our friends based on the rank of their parents.
We don’t worry about the differences between us.
Instead, we bond over the past duty stations we’ve lived at and try to find connections to people we know. The military community is actually rather small and despite how transient it is, often times we will run into friends from past duty stations in the most unlikely places.
A few years ago, I was on deployment and happened to be in port in Bahrain for the holidays. As luck would have it, a friend of mine from Virginia happened to be stationed there and he opened his home to me and my friends. All the sudden the holidays were a lot less lonely.
Foreign bases are my home.
Being a “traveling child,” as some people call it, doesn’t mean I don’t have the need for a home.
It’s just that my idea of home is different.
The military is a community that I know well. I know the culture, the rules, the language. I embrace the change that comes with moving often and exploring new environments every few years.
It’s probably why I felt the pull to enlist myself.
It’s a common theme for military children. We feel drawn to follow in the boot prints of our parents and enlist.
Some go into medicine, firefighting, or law enforcement because they want to make a difference. We have seen our parents impact the world with their careers and we know that we can do the same. Even though I took the traditional route after high school and went straight to college, as I got older I knew I needed to get back to the military community.
I needed to be surrounded by people who understood conversations spoken mainly in acronyms and who have bonded over boot camp hazing.
And in case being a brat and a Sailor myself wasn’t enough connection to the military, I went and married into the military as well.
Growing up on and around bases, I was so used to seeing uniforms. It’s easy to fall into a relationship with a person in uniform when it’s all you’ve ever known.
It’s a comfortable feeling when you’re with someone that understands your community.
So even with my husband, the military is my home.
