When you're in the military—I'll speak for the military because that's my service—it's your whole life. It's not a nine-to-five job. It's an “every minute of every day” career. It's the life you've chosen and it's all-encompassing.
The day you walk out the door.... I still have trouble with it. When I left the Canadian Forces, I didn't even realize until the night before that this was it. I was never getting posted again. I didn't have another job to go to. You go in, sign the piece of paper and leave your ID card on the table, and then you walk out the door.
For me, it was devastating because I didn't know who I was if I wasn't wearing a uniform. I've heard that from other veterans: They don't know who they are when they take off the uniform. I drove directly to Service Ontario and got veterans plates on my car. It was hugely important to me.