Hanging up the Uniform

Hanging up the UNIFORM

The NUMBER ONE QUESTION you’ll receive based on your decision (or lack there of) on exiting out of the Army will be:

"What do you plan on doing 

when you get out?"

The common answer will sound something like, 

“I plan on using my G.I. Bill” or

“I plan on living off my retirement paycheck and 

settling down in Florida.”

***

One question you will not hear anyone ask you is:

"WHO ARE YOU now that you are 
NOT 
a Soldier anymore?"

The easy answer might be:

I’m a civilian. I’m a mother. I’m a daughter. 
BUT, these were more than likely roles you held before you joined. 

My question to you is, 

How are you going to replace the IDENTITY you had in the Army, since it nearly consumed your life, 24-7? 

Dr. Janet Crow, CFLE, at Baylor University, studies military families and the effects that war have on the family system. She noted in 2014, at the annual Texas Council on Family Relations in Fort Worth, that it takes approximately

TWO YEARS   for a service members, after transitioning out  of the military to regain their              

IDENTITY.

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The Army is letting 3,000 G.I.s 

go, narrowing the ranks to 

490,000 by the end of 2015

-USA Today by Gregg Zoroya, 25 Feb 14

Soldiers survive combat, then lose their jobs

***

IDENTITY.

Colossians 3:10 - "You have put on the new self which is being renewed after the image of it's creator."

Christians may have an easier time figuring out their identity post-service than non-Christians based on the call that God places on the Christian’s life.

We are called to be like Christ. Show him to others by displaying him in our life. We are born as image bearers and this is where we find ultimate joy in Him.

However, when we join the Army we are being trained to have an identity and purpose as a Soldier. We learn the Soldier’s Creed, General Orders, The Army Core Values, etc. to operate in a way that the Army has deemed Soldiers are the most effective.

Overlap can occur between Christianity and the Army. For example, both are sacrificial, both can be worshipped, both have a community, both can consume, etc. This can cause identity problems for the thousands of Soldier's that will be existing the service in the next years and who have put their identity in the Army.

Since, we all fall short and are in the process of being renewed day by day we can find ourselves our identity in the Army instead of God’s.

 It's easy, because the Army is seen, gives your paycheck, has viewable accomplishments that give you praise from senior enlisted and officers, but if you put all your trust in the Army you will be let down.

But the Army identity will not give you the everlasting satisfaction that God gives when are in his Army. God's Soldier's don't lose their identity, because the uniform doesn't get taken off.