From their exhaustive combat experiences, to the glory, trial, and tribulation of the home front, the military life has become all that some Americans may know and are accustomed to.  The accompanying sacrifices that are required to be made, in order to fill such an important role, are most often unparalleled and unfathomable by most civilians.  Even still, because the service branches diverge in so many various aspects, the traditional “military life” may not be exactly how most envision it to be.

Because of the increasing reliance, and invaluable role, of the United States’ Army National Guard and Reserve soldiers, the concept of duty has clearly served to blur the lines of what we would typically label the military life.  In fact, even though the heart and spirit of a soldier should be embedded deep to their core, it hasn’t been until recently that the National Guard and Reserve forces have been called to Active Duty service in such massive droves.  What was once just a part time job, with weekend drills and a single two weeks of annual training, has placed even greater responsibilities and demands on our citizen soldiers and their families to fulfill both states and federal missions.

Typically, for many National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers, the military role just isn’t one that they partake in every single day.  Unless they are filling an active guard status, dependent on the unit, most may not even dawn an Army uniform until that one weekend drill requirement approaches.  In fact, it is in these branches, by their very organized nature, where the line between civilian life and military life clearly becomes incredibly blurred.  While typically not constrained to an Active Duty military base, army national guard and reserve soldiers, however, are still expected to act with utmost professionalism, whether they are in the uniform or not.

For these soldiers, the fundamentals that were taught by their trusted drill sergeants, within the basic training arena, may be easy to forget.  When they don’t live the military life on a day-to-day basis, it is really quite easy for these basic soldiering skills and principles to take a backseat to their real, civilian, professions.  No matter what, though, even though the typical military life may vary from branch to branch, most military personnel will tell you that it is an absolute honor to dawn a uniform of their country’s armed forces.  So, for whatever reason an individual may have joined the military, despite recent talk of possibly reinstating the national draft, the choice to become a member of our prestigious military is still a personal, and optional, one. 

It is for this reason that the traditional ‘military life’ is typically accepted, no matter how much an individual soldier or family is required to defy selflessness, and adjust to frequent moving or whatever their unique military situation may throw their way.  Individual comfort may be sacrificed, to some degree, but most soldiers would usually have it no other way in service to their great country.  Their willingness to do this, on our behalf, speaks incredibly highly to the civilians, of whose lives are kept safe a protected, thanks to the willingness of these men and women to sacrifice on their behalf.