It’s a life that not everyone gets to experience, or even understand. Your family is always on time and rarely “typical.” When it comes down to it, growing up in a military home may be far from what people expect it to be. If you come from a military family here are eight signs you might find familiar!
1. The phonetic alphabet comes naturally to you.
Your ABCs and the phonetic alphabet (list of specific words used to identify letters in a message transmitted through radio or phone) are one in the same – simple. For example, you can effortlessly translate the word “Hero” to be “Hotel Echo Romeo Oscar.”
2. Your church has an American flag inside it.
Just like the American flag is hung up outside of our houses and inside classrooms, the flag is also recognized inside military installation chapels. Various religious beliefs are accommodated within these chapels, yet each service ends with everyone singing “God Bless America” or “America the Beautiful.”
3. Calling people by last names is normal.
Troops call each other by last names due to their training in boot camp. Naturally, we tend to pick up on habits of our family members. An additional spoken habit is the importance of referring to adults or authority figures as “ma’am” or “sir.”
4. If you aren’t 15 minutes early, you’re late.
Growing up in a militaristic family, “running late” doesn’t exist. You were taught to always be early to any event, whether it be school, work, or even meeting a friend for coffee. Punctuality is key.
5. Each family member was born in a different place.
You always used to use pencil in your address book, and you have several sets of checks with various addresses on them. You never live anywhere long enough to use them all before requiring a new set of checks with a new address.
6. It takes five minutes to explain where you’re from.
When people ask, “So, where are you from?” it’s not just one simple answer. It takes you several minutes to tell the chronological story of which cities/states/countries your family has been deployed to.
7. Telling time doesn’t require a.m. or p.m.
There is no reason to specify a.m. or p.m., since you’re used to military time. It can be tricky for most to know the difference between 0300 hours and 1500 hours, but to you, it’s second nature.
8. MRE’s seem like a normal meal.
A Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a typical military household commodity containing a main course, side dish, bread, dessert, and a ration heater. These instant dishes are created to give service members a well-balanced meal. If you come from a military family, an MRE might have been packed into your backpack for lunchtime at school.
You can show support to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families by donating online or by mail to Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund.
Posted on March 14 2016 in Blog