Everyone realizes that it is stressful for the military person being on a deployment, but no one really realizes how hard it is for the family. For their friends and others life goes on after the military person leaves and before they know the person is back. For loved ones and the family members the seconds feel like hours, the hours feel like weeks and the weeks feel like years. Needless to say the time that their loved one is gone drags on for the family. Statistics show that family members that have a loved one away affect’s children and teens in negative ways. They are more susceptible to bad behavior and social problems. For more information about this topic visit the website http://mo4h.missouri.edu/programs/military/resources/manual/Deployment-Cycles.pdf. The website is absolutely amazing it gives information about every age group starting from an infant through eighteen years old. It talks about the behaviors and moods that are to be expected and remedies that will help.
I have a brother that has been in the military for three and a half years and he has deployed, he was gone for seven months. I interviewed him and asked him about how being in the military has changed him. I also answered the questions and I was not surprised at all how much it has changed me because I see the changes in everyday life. I asked five basic questions that to most people will seem simple but when you are in the situations they mean so much more because those simple questions have deeper answers. I did the interviews to show the changes that do take place not only in the one away but the ones that are left home waiting for their loved one. The first question I asked him was, “has your experiences changed the way he views life, how so?” He said, “Yes, always appreciate what you have and there is always someone worse off than you, no matter how bad you have it. Also there is no such thing as you can’t, you can do anything you set your mind to and life is fragile so enjoy every minute you have.” The second question I asked him was, “has your experiences changed the way he reacts to different situations, how so?” He said, “Yes, I react different about everything and I view the world different, I also get angry faster but I have less patients.” The third question I asked him was, “has your experiences changed what you value, how so?” He said, “Yes, I value family, being home, time, life, the life I have been given from my mother, way more than I did before.” The forth question I asked him was, “has your experiences changes what you want out of life, how so?” He said, “No and yes, no because before I had some sort of direction, I wanted to do something with sports and I ended up joining the military, now when I get out I have no idea what I want to do when I get out. Yes because I have better perspective and all I wanted to do before was travel and get out of New York State and now I just want to be home.” The last question I asked him was, “has your experiences changed the way you view yourself or forced you to change yourself.” He said, “I do not view myself any different, but I have changed. It changed the way I think about everything from a different perspective.” I also answered the same five questions but my experience would be having him away and missing him so much. The first question I answered with, “Since my brother has left my view of life has changed a lot, he has taught me so many important life lesions that not that many people have the privilege to be taught. I realize now that life is too short to stress about the little thing, family is forever when other people come and go, always be faithful and true to yourself, and to always do the right thing even when no one is looking because at the end of the day you have yourself to answer to.” The second question I answered with, “the way I react to different situations has changed drastically because I used to get upset over the littlest things and in the big picture the really didn’t matter.” The third question I answered with, “Having my brother being gone has had a tremendous effect on what I value. I value my family a lot more, all of the extras my parents do for me that other children couldn’t dream of, and how fortunate I am to live in a free country. Some children wake up in the morning without parents and their biggest problem is finding something to eat that day with the same cloths they have had on for weeks, so if my biggest problem in the day is my hair not straightening just right in the morning I am doing alright and I am thankful that for all that I have.” The forth question I answered with, “My brother has taught me a lot about life in general and from that has helped me indirectly figure out what I really want out of life. I used to have no idea all I wanted was to get out and travel far away, I have learned from him leaving and now all he wants to do is get back and I don’t want that to be me. I also learned that nothing matters if you are not surrounded by the people that you love so being far away will not benefit me at all and they will not be there forever and that I need to spend time with them while I can.” The last question I answered with, “I have much more to learn but my brother has helped me mature and grown as a person, and I will always be in debt to my big brother.
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