Not everyone sees the world in the same way. This is even truer for Military members who have been trained for combat. Worse even for those that have seen or experienced combat. The Military prepares you for battle. It prepares you to manage risk and recognize threats, avoid ambush, respond to attack, and treat everything even possibly dangerous as an enemy. Even worse, the mind of a military member often sees failure as death to themselves or worse – death to their brothers and sisters in arms. Below is a series of photos – normal photos from my life, that have then had my filter of thought overlaid onto them. I hope you can begin to understand why some military veterans struggle so hard to readjust to your reality…
Cirque Du Soleil, a beautiful event. Our subject sat quietly in an excellent seat. 
Our Marine sees exit points, threats, safe “employees” and all “possible threats”. He sits with easy access to the escape route…chosen carefully during purchasing. 
An interesting bit of wood lies in the trail. It had beautiful grain pattern and odd shape. 
The Marine sees that It is obviously booby trapped. The suspicious buried cable next to it, with the dead center of trail position – LEAVE IT BE! 
3 Amazing Kids and their Grandmother on vacation. Smiles, joy, and laughter abound. 
But the Marine sees 4 extremely valuable assets that do not understand the true nature of the world. In his mind, they must be protected in this strange place. 
An incredible cruise ship vacation. You wish you could be on it right now… 
But he sees unknown people, unknown location, restricted escape. Trapped in an emergency. Must be constantly on guard at all times! 
You see a simple ripped garbage bag, or at most, an inconvenience or frustration. 
The Marine see this as a failed mission. Someone did not follow orders, and therefore left all of us in danger. Sure this is minor, but it could be something huge in the future. 
Several employees from the U.S.A. meeting peers in Australia for the first time. 
Our Marine’s lens shows brothers and sisters. The org is more tight than just “work” – we share “missions” and “objectives” – we are a UNIT, and we must be united! 
A boy overjoyed to build his own PC from scratch with Dad. Parts everywhere ready to go! 
The Marine father sees this as a critical mission, that like all his other missions, simply CANNOT be allowed to fail. 
Jogging along the Sydney Harbour Bridge. A peaceful and uncrowded scene. 
But the Marine sees high dangerous fencing, preventing easy escape, and potential threat – why is that man carrying an umbrella on such a nice day? 
The kids getting ready to play volleyball. Fun, competitive spirits ready to go! 
Marines prepare for battle! A battleground with friendlies and enemies. Give no quarter, take no prisoners! 
Look Ma, no line at this stall, let’s buy our Prague Ham and Hot Mulled Wine from her! 
…and the Marine is suspicious. Something wrong over there if there are NO customers. This line is long, that is empty, must be poisoned. 
Prague is such a beautiful tourism city. With old architecture and wonderful people. 
But you could easily have a sniper up there causing SERIOUS problems. Our Marine has planned a path to get safe, and close enough to get into the building and solve the problem!
TRANSITIONS: veterans change to civilians 