A Trip Down Memory Lane
I’ve been a “civvy” now for nearly six years and even today I still find myself reminiscing about the good old times. Well, I say “civvy” but I guess if you’ve served in the armed forces, you’re never quite a fully fledged civilian ever again.
I’m very fortunate to not suffer from PTSD, at least, I don’t think I do… but I do occasionally take the odd trip down memory lane and it’s something I don’t really have control over.
It’s not a rare sight to see the odd chinook helicopter flying over my local area and that doesn’t usually initiate a memory montage. However, recently I have seen a couple Apache Attack Helicopters conducting exercises in the sky above and this for some unexplained reason brings it all back…
As if it was only yesterday, a memory playback like watching a film at the cinema. I slip into a daydream and replay through scenarios which we encountered on operational tours. As I sit here writing this blog, I wonder if I am a little wacky and maybe there are people saying “let it go, man“.
The strange thing about it is, although I have an amazing family and a Mrs who I love more than anything in the world, I periodically wish I could go back. Like an extreme holiday package, going on patrol, getting into firefights with the enemy and simply living with the blokes in a compound located in the middle of nowhere; with no other worries at all.
The adrenaline, comradeship and that mad hatter life we all lived. I’ll hold my hands up, I do miss the good old days…
Am I alone, or do I share common ground with other Veterans?
What takes you back?
Written by Jamie Kennedy
No alone pal. We all want to go back, some days it seems like a dream, or that somebody else did all the amazing things you get to do on tour. At one point i was responsible of £13m
worth of kit!