Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Harsh Realities of War

There are a lot of harsh realities of war, many that military families do not like to think about, and most civilians would never even contemplate. The harshest reality of war is that people die. Good people and not so good people. War involves death. It is a reality of our lives.

Last week someone that SSG D and I have known for almost 5 years died in battle. He was killed by a suicide bomber along with other men. This is the first person I have personally known that has died in this war and while I have heard of soldiers dieing and even seeing memorials on base and having men from my husband battalion die in the last deployment, this one has struck closer to home. Knowing the person makes a completely different impact. I have a greater understanding today of why it is hard for civilians to have any kind of understanding of what a military family goes through. I am military, I have been around these types of losses for a long time, and I have to say I wasn't prepared for what it would feel like when it was someone I knew and cared for. I have wept before for the lost men and women, but this one was more personal.

I used to think that civilians just didn't understand what it was like for military families (the long separations, the ptsd, etc) and now I realize that maybe this is something you can't fully understand or appreciate until you are living through it. Until it is knocking on your door and pounding all the louder when you refuse to answer.  I've always heard the saying ignorance is bliss and I have to say in this case it really was blissful not knowing what it would feel like. Now that I know it is all the more real. Scarier.

As the saying goes...Reality Bites.

Rest In Peace Major Kennedy.