“B” is for bond. It is the tie we make with those who share experiences. It is more than a common friendship, it is a connection to another human who has shared the “Suck”.
There is a bond between myself and those with whom I currently serve. We are all in it together. It is a link that requires little to be said about how we are doing. All I have to do is look in their eyes and I can see if it is a good day or a bad day. It lets me know when to take a few minutes to listen to what they need to say, when they have something to get off their chest. I let the soldiers around me vent, because doing so may be what they need to get back in the game and stay there. This is what a “battle” does; he watches your back. I don’t care about rank or position, when it comes to letting a soldier vent about what is f***ed up. It doesn’t matter how screwed up a situation is, and sometimes it is not something that can be fixed, but the soldier can get back in and continue to attack their task with the required tenacity he/ she needs.
There is also the bond with home. It is constantly under stress. Am I saying enough? Am I saying too much? If it survives a hardship, the stress may indeed strengthen it. It is there, though. Home is not the reason I do what I do; My need for adventure and my wanderlust are all the reason I will ever need to do this job. The bond is my reason to return.
Finally, there is the bond with the past. I get a taste of what every soldier has endured, throughout history. I can relate, on some level, to every generation of warrior from recent past to ancient Sparta.They are my brothers in arms. I have shared in a struggle as old as humankind; The drive to dominate vs. the will to live free.
As a wise redhead once said, “Forced communication will breed voluntary communication”.
You do what you do because of who you are. And since I love that person, and believe in that person, I believe in what you do.
Hmmph. Pretty sure that wise redhead got that bit of wisdom from me…the most wise of all redheads.
Sink, swim or flounder when it comes to your bond back home. The greatest thing that ever happened to my marriage were deployments. The bond was forced to become as strong as it is by everything we went through. It is worth it and you will become stronger together than you ever thought possible. But it’s only when you understand how crucial it is to maintain that bond that you will reap the rewards. All you will have to do is take a look around you when you get home to see those couples who swam their little hearts out and those who never even bothered to start kicking.
As for the bond among soldiers…I will never pretend to understand it. I will say that it’s a beautiful thing in it’s complexity. I truly admire your devotion to being such a good “battle buddy”. Whether you hear it or not, there will be someone over there that admires you for it too.
PS…I love your end of this blog. Soooo good.