Nourse Fox

The Honest Benefit

The Honest Benefit I have been in the military lifestyle since 2013. What I mean by that is I showed up at the Naval Academy Prep School in the summer of that year, and since then it’s been military life. I’ve never been able to just go home for the weekend without taking leave; I’ve been wearing a uniform every day of the week that gets scrutinized by peers, superiors, and subordinates; I’ve stood a duty post on rotation throughout; and I’ve been at the beck and call of various chains-of-command who have taken the opportunity to use me and my colleagues as the expensive laborers we are on many a weekend and holiday. I deployed to Japan two weeks before Thanksgiving, so that means I didn’t get to wake up to Mom gently placing my Christmas stocking at my feet that year (*winky face emoji*).