Have you spent a few years OCONUS? What was it like going back after being gone for so long?

Hah. I've lived OCONUS quite a few times. 2 years in Japan, 4 years in the Philippines, 2 years in Halifax, a year Down Under...there is definitely a contrast between US culture and...well, nearly everywhere else. Canada wasn't TOO different. To me, the US feels like a safe, comfy blanket to sleep in, but....I really, really enjoy seeing other cultures.

After being in Okinawa for three years, we had to learn how to drive stateside again. Wrong side of the road, driving on the wrong side of the car and such. For a long time I would walk up and get in the passenger side of my Jeep. That, and what we call the Okinawa wave, which is hitting the wipers instead of the turn signal because they are on the wrong dang side.

Spent first 6 yrs of my career on Diego Garcia, Panama and Philippines. Did a 3 yr CONUS tour, then to Japan for 5 yrs, before finishing up CONUS. Going back to the US, it felt like the foreign country and took some getting used to.