Being raised by someone in the military is some what different than your average childhood. Military children grow up in an environment that slightly resembles boot camp . In honor of my father retiring from the United States Air Force after serving his country for over 31 years, here are seven signs you grew up with a military parent.

1.When learning the alphabet you also learned the phonetic alphabet.

The phonetic alphabet is a list of words used to identify letters over a message transmitted over the radio or phone. Tango isn’t just a dance it really is the letter T.

2.You know military time.

When your mom or dad talks about waking you up for school the next morning, you are waking up at 0700 hours not 7 a.m.

3.You’ve eaten a MRE.

MREs are Meal Ready-to-Eat; they are meals that are given to the troops to keep them running strong on the field. We have all had this as our meal one time, and its not uncommon to have these in your pantry.

4.When you open your wallet, your Military ID is right next to your license.

This is your golden ticket to get on to the military base

5.Chores weren’t an option.

Most parents would ask, "can make you make your bed before you leave", but the language in a military household comes closer to an order than a request. Making your bed every morning was a must, and you learned that it needed to be done “right way”.

6. If you are not early you are late.

One saying that was drilled in my head was “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable”.

7. Traveling.

Many families move from state to state or even to a foreign countries. Military families usually don’t have much say as to where they are going. If you are not moving then your parent is traveling all the time. They will be in California for six weeks, home for a week, then off to Germany. The only plus side are the awesome souvenirs.

Thank you Dad for all that you have done, and thank you to all the soldiers who defend our country.