Monique Hassan is a Signal Corp veteran of the United States Army out of North Carolina. She is also a writer who specializes in Islamic/spiritual psychology and a patient advocate in behavioral health. Cult of Americana invited Monique to give her unique perspective on service, in honor of Veteran’s Day.
Some soldiers want to go to war, it is what they live for and they train hard. I remember an overly eager soldier telling me “don’t kill one before I do” as if he wanted to take a life. I could never understand that mentality. Others are terrified, but they must do their duty.
Soldiers are deployed for a year, an entire year away from their children and their families. The soldiers often live in stressful and chaotic situations, while the family wakes up everyday hoping they don’t get a bad phone call or knock on the door. They just never know if their soldier will make it back home or not. They have to show strength and support when they get the chance to do a phone call, but inside their hearts are breaking and they are lonely. Divorce rates are high in the military and they all know it. Not every family can handle the constant loneliness from field time, deployments, and late hours.