I miss it all the time. I was a combat medic - I also sat on OP's - took IED hits in our Bradleys..... sat up all night drinking red bull..... foot patrols at night with one team......

I made some ofthe closest friends i will ever have when i was there... and i still talk to them even three years later and we are all in different units... some got out.... or changed jobs.

I didn't sleep for a whole year (more or less) while I was in a 14 month school...... it was hard... people didn't understand..... i was on a bunch of different meds..... it mostly sucked.... and it didn't help my reputation at all as a soldier - which most of us who have gone through this understand.

i still have a hard time with a somewhat short fuse.... but its getting better as I have found a way to channel my frustrations into my work and become more productive, and more optimistic.

Even people I don't know who have been deployed I seem to bond better with than most. It's a much more intimate environment when the only people you have to rely on in life or death are the people to your right or left. it changes your outlook on the less important.