I've been watching the show from the start, and this thread, some of the choices I agree with and some of the comments as well, some not.
I've also got a bit of experience being away from home, years actually, and the only thing that was keeping me there was my word and a signature on a contract.
Usually my signature signed 3/Three times in a row, under a PLS. A few of you should get that.
Here's my take on the mental thing that most of these guys seem to be doing terrible at.
Everybody here has started a fire from an ember or blew one back from coals. That's the way the bad feelings work, they start in the back of your head, as a spark, could be anything, usually Fear- your ability or lack, your family's safety, your wife's fidelity (big one with the younger guys), your girlfriends fidelity, or your wife and girlfriend meeting and talking about your lack of fidelity, your house, your stuff in your house.
Missing birthdays, Christmases, Thanksgivings, anniversaries, births, deaths, funerals, graduations, all the things that are suppose to be important, and are.
EXCEPT, when you cant be there, not because you don't want to be, because you cant.
Because there's other things that are more important at the time.
Things that you cant take your mind off of or you or someone else is going to get hurt.
The trick for me is, don't give the spark/feeling breath, putting it into words just blows it into a flame and then your screwed, then all you can think about is that fire in the back of your head that's telling you that the house is flooded, your wife/girlfriend or both are selling your stuff and splitting your bank account between themselves and Jody.
Your dogs in the pound, your kids in jail, moms in the hospital.
Not a dam thing you can do about it because you ain't there, all its going to do is keep you from doing your job.
So, you don't blow that spark into a flame, sounds simple enough but I've seen grown, trained, professionals scream and cry in an MWR because the wife/girlfriend didn't answer the phone and they were sure they were banging the neighbor.
Hell who knows, they probably were but ain't s##t you can do about it so don't put it into words, don't blow it into a flame.
Get over it by not getting into it, as soon as the spark goes up let it go, don't even look at it, no breath.
My wife hates this theory of mine, wants to hear that every time something happened all I could think about was her, and my family back home. Sometimes I even tell her, yep, that's what I was thinking about, sure thing, that's what kept me going, that's what kept me sharp.
Bullshit, if that's what someone's thinking about when they're away from home doing their job, or on an island trying to survive/live then they are just adding unneeded hardship and probably should have stayed home and whined about it there instead of on camera.
All in all a good show, I did think that josh was gonna cry when the boat left, pu##y.
I will say, you never know who's going to make it, but after awhile you can make an educated guess who's not.
