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than honorable for unstated reasons. It took my filing a complaint to get it rectified and I was never offered a reason on why they did that.
I was discharged honorably under a chapter 5-8 (Separation for the Convenience of the Government) in February 2013. After they lied to me during re-enlistment I no longer felt I could trust even my direct line supervisors, and if I couldn’t trust them CONUS (in the Continental United States), how could I trust them OCONUS (outside the CONUS) when my life was in their hands. I refused to get a Family Care Plan for my youngest child and that led to my separation.
My grandfather had passed away from cancer around this time, and I inherited some of his tools from his boat work-shop. I started putting them to use while returning to work as a physical trainer at a local gym. I jumped from job to job until I landed in security contracting. The money was great, but I wasn’t healing, and, in many ways, I was just running from the deeper issues. In between trips overseas I would continue to hone my skills as a tradesman and continue growing my reputation in my area.
It wasn’t until I attended a retreat that I started healing. I started to see woodworking as a conduit through which I could stay busy, as well as give me time to meditate and work through the war scars in my head.
I think for many of us, being in the military becomes our purpose. It shapes who we are and how we react to everything around us. After service we lose that purpose and guidance and don’t know how to channel the things we’ve learned into skills that help us succeed in the civilian world. We feel dirty for the things we’ve had to do and see, and sometimes we can’t get those images out of our heads. When you’re still serving you have guys around you to distract you from that noise, but when you are by yourself in
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