Coming from a military family, I have the seen the way serving in our armed forces affects people. There is a certain fraternity that exists among soldiers and sailors, regardless of where and when they served, that civilians usually cannot understand because they have never been faced with such circumstances.
While veterans may move away from each other and lose touch more than they would like, military chat rooms have created an opportunity for service people, past and present, to visit, talk and share their knowledge and experiences with each other.
My uncle served 20 years in the Air Force and then took a job in the U.S. Postal Service. He would tell me a lot about his days in the service and the experiences he had. Such things as international travel, visits to historic sites and humorous anecdotes about the people he encountered along the way were commonplace, but it was not until he started entering military chat rooms that he really started to open up.
I had always wondered why he seemed to be so hush-hush on certain issues. We were very close, and I had always admired his service to our country, but there were things that he held back from me.
There were things about his combat experience, and what it was like to fire his weapon and face enemy fire that he could post in a military chat room, but he never told me. When I would ask about such things, he would change the subject.
I soon realized that the military chat rooms provided a way for him to express his true thoughts with people who had been through the same things that he had. These were people who would understand why he did the things he did, and not ask him questions that those of us who are fortunate enough to have ever been exposed to the horrors of war and destruction would ask.
Now don't get me wrong. I have seen many military buffs and weekend-warrior types enter those same military chat rooms and try to sound educated and act as if they have some inside track to the military experience that the rest of us don't.
Most of the time, true soldiers and sailors are fairly polite to them, but I have seen instances where service people will get upset. It is sort of like the hockey aficionado who tries to give the star player advice on how to play the game; it's almost uncomfortable to watch.
For the most part, military chat rooms seem to be therapeutic to a lot of soldiers. They have the opportunity to talk about their experiences with a sympathetic audience, but are able to leave if it becomes too emotionally taxing.
I know that my grandfather would usually shut down after discussing his experience in World War II for more than a few minutes. I only wish that he had lived long enough to get the benefits of military chat rooms.