I miss the military...

Looking over some pics of mine on FaceBook this morning and realized that despite knowing that the ups seem to be less frequent than the downs, I miss being in uniform.  No chance to re-enlist as old and out of shape I am (are the mid-40's that old?) and also due to the fact that since I retired the first time I would need a waiver to get back in....plus "Household-6" would probably have a few impolite words to share with me if I did...

This sucks...but then again, everything sucks.....

Still, I miss it....

The sense of belonging, the sense of doing something that (sometimes barely, but still...) matters, the camaraderie among soldiers, the waking up in the early morning and being part of a culture that most will never know, sitting on the side of a mountain somewhere I would never of gone on my own and seeing just how damn beautiful God makes the world.... Sure, it sucks...a lot...at times.  But there is just something about being in uniform among brothers from other mothers (and some sisters too) that you wouldn't understand unless you have been there...

Me, third from left, and some of my former brothers on our way home in 2007...

Luckily for me I have a group of mostly other vets (with a few civilians in there that are both fine Americans and would of made great soldiers!) that I shoot with a couple of times a year, the Posse.  I have written about a few of the shoots before.  No we are not a "militia".  We get together, build a fire and camp and exchange stories about the old days and scuttlebutt and then wake up in the morning and have some range time....complete with prayer before and a safety brief.  We are old soldiers but still loyal Americans.  Its a great group of guys and the closest I guess I get to having that sense of belonging with people that have paid the price of admission to be in the circle, so to speak.  Its good enough most of the time but still I long for my youth...

that's "Armed and Free" for those of you that don't speak dead languages.....  You got 3 senior NCO's, A Ranger, A Sergeant Major, A SEAL, Grenada vet from the 82nd, one active duty member represented in this pic... and every single person in the pic is a shooter and worth hanging around with..not bad company by a long shot....