What do I do after Afghanistan?

One of the primary tenets of Giant Bomb is simple: Don't be a jerk

It goes without saying that EpicSteve is not the only Giant Bomb user who has or is currently serving in the United States Armed Forces. All of whom have different opinions and experiences during their service. Regardless of how you may feel about their service you must always remember Giant Bomb's first tenet.... Don't be a jerk.

Make baby's.

Welcome back, duder. Post whatever content you produce on here and I'll be sure to check it out.

Fake your own death?

Nice to still hear good accounts of people in the military, i think if i didn't have health issues i would totally consider it myself. Thanks for serving our county, critics be damned.

Just popped in to say "welcome back".  Hearing that you came back safe and without any mental baggage makes the news all the better.

Can't thank you and your comrades enough. Appreciate all you guys have sacrificed.

 @EpicSteve: 
Just to echo the sentiments of what others have already said, Thank you for your service, it's always awesome to hear of someone coming back home from deployment. So good luck to you in your future endeavors! 

Welcome back and good luck.

@EpicSteve said:

I showed the Afghan Army soldiers videogames. They never even heard of them They didn't really understand them. I tried to teach them Lumines. Regardless though, it was captivating. I also showed them Will Smith's magic show he put on during a Happy Hour. It was the first time they ever saw magic tricks. They got a kick out of it.

That's awesome! Way to spread the word of the glorious Will Smith to international audiences.

The tokens of information you have been talking about have made for a super interesting read. Glad you're back and in one piece, duder, and thank you for your service.

As a vet, I felt the need to chime in here. First off, I was in the Air Force and never saw combat. The closest I got to danger was the fact that I worked in store houses full of bombs and missiles; but I never saw combat. Anyway, on to my point.

I have to question pulling the "Don't be a jerk" card on the people who express their opinions. Don't just automatically dismiss someone who disagrees with American foreign policy and says the war we're fighting is imperialistic. Part of not being a jerk is allowing people with different opinions their place in the discussion, and not assuming they're an asshole just because of what they think. I understand you guys want to stand up for military people and veterans and it is much appreciated; but keep in mind that we can stand up for ourselves as well. As a vet, I like to think the sacrifices I made (small though they may be) were for the idea that we can have communities of people with a diversity of opinions, without judging and dismissing people based on their opinions. I know this subject hits close to home for a lot of people but try to keep an open mind because maybe it's someone who disagrees with the war in Afghanistan that comes up with an idea or policy that ends up saving thousands of lives or brings us a step closer to ending the war.

Also, it is entirely possible to disagree with the war but still support our military members. When I was AD I knew soldiers, airmen, and seamen from a wide variety of jobs (from combat operators to chaplains to administrative persons) who both agreed with and disagreed with the reasons behind what we were doing. But they served nonetheless, and their opinions didn't/don't in any way invalidate their service, or make their service any greater.

That said, welcome home @EpicSteve and thank you and all of our vets and AD military persons (yes, even the Coast Guard). Some advice: when thinking about school, take employability into consideration when choosing a major, if you haven't already. I picked Sociology and now I'm sociologically fucked because my degree is not very employable, and the job market is flooded with veterans. The GI Bill is great, but it would have been even greater for me if I would have been smarter about picking a major.

Welcome back. Thank you for your service and the always fun blogs. Long time reader, first blahblahblah

What do you want to study? How far have you thought ahead about your civilian career?

Chill out for a few months you earned it, up until your school starts.

While I don't agree with Americas invasion of Iraq, Afghanistan had to be done, the Taliban are some of the worse people on earth, Good Work Dude!

Get some fresh Canadian pie.

But not too fresh.

Your a hero as far as I'm concerned, and I'm glad to see your alive and well!

I've read many of your reviews and forum posts over the years and I think that whatever you do: you'll do extremely well.

Are you a member of the VFW?

Glad to see a duder get back home safely. Hopefully you can spend the rest of your life doing something that doesnt involve killing people.

@Video_Game_King said:

@EpicSteve said:

I won't have to wear body armor anymore or carry a loaded weapon to the bathroom.

The world's changed, man. *cue pan to landscape beyond* It's changed big time. *title card pops up to let you know things have started*

*cue volume rise in GTA 4 theme music*

I'd say when you get back home take a whole damn day to yourself. Pig out on horrible food, relax, enjoy the beautiful weather (if you live somewhere with it!) and just chill, you deserve it. Fly back home safe! Thank you for your wonderful service =)

@EpicSteve

DO ANOTHER INTERNAL AFFAIRS PODCAST WITH THE GOOD OLE GUYS, GOD DAMN IT!

Were you ever a jerk to other people out there in Afghanistan?

@Fattony12000 said:

@EpicSteve

DO ANOTHER INTERNAL AFFAIRS PODCAST WITH THE GOOD OLE GUYS, GOD DAMN IT!

Were you ever a jerk to other people out there in Afghanistan?

They aren't dumb. I'll just use it as a platform to talk about Dragon Ball Z again.

@EpicSteve said:

There's no such thing as a realistic military game. No one has done it. A developer can throw in realistic tactics and equipment all day. Combat is what it is because of fear. You take cover immediately because you're afraid to die. In the real world, you're dealing with weapon malfunctions, communicating with your comrades, picking out enemy silhouettes and assuring your buddy next to you isn't hurt or captured. A videogame can't replicate the simple things like the fatigue of humping ammo, 40lbs of body armor and hiking a mountain. Your constant need for water and carbs. For a real military sim to exist, AI needs to be at at point in which your friends and enemies are afraid to die. Until then, we'll have to deal with one shot kills and suppressing an enemy until Bravo Team can flank. Go look up some combat footage on Youtube. It's intense, but in videogame form it would be super boring. I don't know how a game can do justice to that. But I'm still down with playing Battlefield.

I'm now super interested in a game like this, if Journey can pull off me getting emotionally engaged in a story and the Walking Dead getting me to care about specific characters and whether they die or not (Clementine), then this might eventually happen. Maybe it wouldn't be an FPS because of the respawn aspect takes me out of caring about the characters.

@bibz said:

OP you sound awesome. I think your heads on straight and that you'll do just fine. Just never be afraid to ask for help if things get hard. Thats when we get to do our part.

Wanted to reiterate this. I've been following you on twitter for quite a while Steve and I'm always fascinated by the shit you put up there. And what this guy said. Good luck out there duder.