Many veterans trained and fought hard to defend their country. It’s the reason why we have events such as memorial day–to remember those that served in the military to protect civilians across the nation. However, there have been some rather nasty stereotypes surrounding veterans these days, with many of them being extremely negative. Veterans are often referred to as violent drunks, while others see them as mindless drones that do whatever their commander says to do.

So let’s debunk some of these myths to give you a better understanding of what it’s like to be a veteran in today’s world.

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Veterans are all treated well after they leave the military

Not necessarily. There is definitely a lot of support provided to veterans. In fact, there are many companies fighting for veterans benefits to further improve their lifestyles. But it doesn’t mean that every veteran has a good time once they leave service. Adjusting to civilian life can be difficult, and it’s not uncommon for many of these veterans to return to the military or a similar line of work (such as private security or being a bodyguard) because of their skills.

So this is certainly a myth. Not all veterans are treated well, and there are many who are just treated poorly due to the stereotypes around them.

Veterans all leave the military with emotional instabilities

Perhaps this myth was propagated by TV shows and films, but the reality is that not everyone faces it. There are many people that finish their military service and are able to adjust back to civilian life. They don’t have any underlying trauma, and they also don’t have emotional struggles. But that’s not to say it doesn’t exist.

Emotional trauma and PTSD are real issues, and many people leave the military with deep wounds that might never heal. However, to generalize everyone is wrong, so this is yet another myth.

Veterans are aggressive and only think about fighting

Soldiers are trained to fight–it’s part of their job description. But to say that they’re all aggressive is just wrong. While combat training is a part of their life, they’re also trained in other skills. Some have trade skills, others work with computers, and some are great mechanics. Just because you’re in the military, it doesn’t mean that you are aggressive all the time.

In fact, the opposite might be true. If someone is naturally quite aggressive then military training can help them harness that as a positive. They learn to control their violent urges, and they tame those personalities so that they can come out of the military a better person.

Why are there stereotypes?

Like with most stereotypes, it’s usually caused by a lack of knowledge and understanding. People tend to avoid topics such as war and military because they’re usually associated with negative things. However, the more we understand these veterans, the more we’ll find that we actually have things in common. At the end of the day, we’re all here to fight for peace–we just do it in different ways.