Growing Up Military: The Army Brat Advantage of Adaptability and Change
I am a proud Military Brat. More specifically, a proud Army Brat.
I was born into this lifestyle. I did not choose it and I did not know anything different. In my early adulthood I read Military Brats by Mary Edwards Wertsch. It opened my eyes in a lot of ways, but I also realized the book came from a perspective I did not fully share. Some parts hit home, especially the chapter about Military Brats as Nomads. Other parts reflected experiences from a different time, different ranks, and different family dynamics than mine.
My father was a higher ranking Army officer. My mother lived through some of the things described in the book. I lived through some of them too, but always a little outside the center of the stereotype. A subculture inside a subculture. And while the military is slow to change, it does evolve. Like any institution, change only happens when the people in power allow it. That is true for companies, governments, households, all of it.
Even between my sibling and me, our age difference created two completely different versions of this life. They spent most of their school years in one district. I came in as a preteen and had to figure things out while puberty was already doing its thing. Military brats share a label, but our experiences are not identical. Still, growing up this way opens your eyes. Or at least I like to think it does.
For me, the best part of being an Army Brat was the moving. I got to live in places I never expected. I met people I never would have crossed paths with. I learned early that the world is bigger than the place where you eventually graduate. There is always more out there.
When you are the new kid often enough, you learn to observe. You learn to adapt. You learn the culture and pace of wherever you land. I think that makes us more tolerant, or I hope it does. Nature and nurture both matter, but being immersed in different cultures teaches you about yourself and about others. It stretches your understanding.
And honestly, I think that is what is missing in the world today. Tolerance. We get stuck in our routines, especially as we get older. We settle down and then we forget to go out into the world. You do not even need a passport. Just visit a different region of your own country. That alone can shift your perspective.
My biggest culture shock was not going from a military base to civilian life. It was meeting people who had never left their area. That still surprises me as an adult. I understand that not everyone has the luxury of travel and I wish it were more affordable for everyone. But I also think many people could take a short trip to a nearby city or a place a few hours away. Sometimes you just need to take the blinders off.
This goes for people in power too. They get stuck. They get jaded. Maybe they need to spend time in places they would never choose on their own. Step into someone else’s normal. Get uncomfortable. Because when we stay in the same patterns, nothing changes.
As a Military Brat, change was the pattern. It shaped how I see people and how I move through the world. If anything, it taught me that staying in one place is easy, but understanding each other takes effort. And maybe we could all use a little more of that.