06/17/2026
“The Lonely Island” is real.
No, not the SNL skit. Sorry!
The post military “lonely island” as a veteran.
Do you know the one I’m talking about? You’re no longer in the team room, on the deck, or in the bay with other soldiers.
You’ve moved away from your military installation for the last time. Military service complete. Now a veteran.
I can’t speak for anyone but myself here.
This isn’t about agreeing or disagreeing.
It’s not about you telling me or anyone else what “I or we should be doing.” I’m not telling you either. It’s for awareness.
If you’ve felt this loneliness after you’ve left the service, you will relate. Some may not, and that’s ok.
Recently, I called a couple old camrades and a couple called me out of the blue. No calls were about needing a favor. A couple were informative and others were to catch up “because you’ve been on my mind.”
You’ve been there, right? You find yourself thinking, “I need to call X and catch up.”
Only to be brought back to reality from a blaring horn because the light turned green.
The thought to call flees your mind as quickly as you the green light and horn.
The days continue, weeks pass, and the seasons change. Again, randomly, thoughts of your comrades pass through your mind. “I need to give them a shout” you tell yourself again.
Finally, you or they make the call. A sense of joy, safety, and connection floods your mind.
“Hey, what’s been going on?” You hear excitement in their response. “Are they the bearer of bad news?”
Instead you hear, “You’ve been on my mind and I wanted to see what you’ve been up to!” A sigh of relief. Relaxing, it’s not bad news.
Before long, 30-45 minutes passed and you begin your goodbyes.
“Let’s not wait so long to catch up next time” or “let’s grab lunch one day!”
(I would bet both would say, “absolutely.”)
Your mind once again goes adrift….back to the chores of life. But today felt different.
Without realizing it, you felt safe, happy, and connected. For a brief time you felt like you were back on the team, on the deck, or in the bay with them.
The past few days I’ve had several phone conversations (live not text) with previous veterans I worked with for many years. It was uplifting.
It may be the smile you or someone else needs that day. The care, concern, and camaraderie doesn’t stop when the military service is over. We all raised our right hands to protect and defend our great Nation.
If you made it this far, give someone a call today or tomorrow. No agenda. Just catching up. I bet they will be excited to hear your voice.
If you need a call, message me, and I’ll call you. We can share a funny or embarrassing military story about “this one time I…”
This is the part of transition we rarely discuss that creeps in a few weeks or months after you catch your breath.
