Eight years isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things. The stereotypical band-of-brothers stuff only sets in when your clique has been enlisted long enough to

Eight years isn't a lot in the grand scheme of things. The stereotypical band-of-brothers stuff only sets in when your clique has been enlisted long enough to see combat, lose people, and retire into civilian life together. Trauma bonding. That's 20-25 years of service IIRC, longer than most marriages. They have enough trust to go in on business or investments together. After that long it's a relationship of codependency. Maybe people's ability to bond is just fucked these days, but two tours of duty has never really been enough to forge those sorts of bonds. Your experience sounds about right.