brewphyseod

Hi there, I know I'm not OP but I was an AFEOD tech who spent most of 2007 in Afghanistan(northeast by pakistan). While a lot of it was the worst experiences of my life, there was a camaraderie in it that was really special. The friends I made there were awesome, and I was bummed when I had to leave them, despite being excited about returning home. We had some really fun times together, and suffered the worst together. All in all, I think the only people who really understand my experience were those who lived it with me, and I really valued being able to share the experience.

I was always a goofy one, making inappropriate jokes (during serious time). I look back now and think that was how I dealt with the stress. That said, there were definitely some good times. For us, we started really valuing and looking forward to simple things. Like when we stop at the base with the good food, or a couple of days off for refit, or a few hours of downtime to strip down and lay out on top of our trucks.

I am really torn looking back at the experiences, as it's hard to really distinguish between the awful and the awesome.

I hope this helps to answer the question.

Well to be fair, linguistics probably has more application in the civilian world. EOD is pretty specific, if you want to get a job using those skills you basically need to join a PD or federal agency.

That said, I loved it, and the people you get to work with and the stuff you get to do... I traveled a shit ton for VIP protection, and range clearances etc. Also, the EOD school is one of the harder ones to get through. When I went through about 1 in 3 Air Force recruits made it through (if that). So it's not a sure thing, and it's not for everyone. I would suggest visiting a local EOD unit if you have the opportunity.

As an EOD vet of our two most recent wars, I am kinda curious how Afghan/Iraq wars veterans are viewed by older vets.

I also really wanted to know if most of your war experience was as boring as mine, and merely punctuated with moments of intensity. I realize boring is not a great descriptive word, but we spent the vast majority of our time just driving around, maintaining our kit, and waiting.

Thanks for the response.

I love that description, 'repressive, but in a very lax and benignly inefficient way."

Such a good use of words. Sorry about nerding out over that.