> did your service change your political outlook? i was too young to even have a political outlook. my current outlook is based on college lectures and the thoughts/feelings of friends and mentors. i browse 4chan so i know who not to be. > what are your thoughts on the wars raging on today? the wars in ukraine and israel would have happened regardless of the wars after 9/11. the most optimistic viewpoint is that we delayed the next 9/11 and learned that we can't stop the anti-west ideology in developing countries in a single generation. the only thing that really bothers me is that everyone blames trump or biden for pulling out of afghanistan but in reality no country is allowed to occupy another country past the 20 year mark. (i might be wrong on that but i remember on npr that the international community once got on a country's case because it hit 20 years and their military was still occupying someone.) > was it hard readjusting to civilian life? extremely. i had mild ptsd from deployment that turned into severe ptsd because i thought taking zoloft was a good idea. i was illegally denied accommodations by my college so i wasn't able to be successful at school. i can't work a job with any sudden noises because i'll get flashbacks and freak out on the civilians, so i have no choice but to get a job with a college degree. even though it's all paid for by the gi bill, i've had so many problems that it's nearly impossible for me to get a bachelor's. so now i'm stuck as a welfare queen with nothing to do but workout and play call of duty. it's been 11 years of this. holyshit life is amazing. i still struggle a lot with moral injury. i really regret letting a child getting molested by the afghans. i was outnumbered 12 to 1 and the only american in the immediate area. i can't believe they were actually molesting little boys on an american base with the full knowledge of americans. if i said anything or tried to intervene, i would have faced ucmj action
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