See You Later: The Bittersweet Gift of Marine Corps Friendships

If you’ve ever laid on the hot pavement on a cool spring day, just talking about anything and everything with a friend while the kids chalk up the sidewalk nearby—you get it. You know the magic of those ordinary moments that somehow become unforgettable. Or maybe you’ve taken long walks around the neighborhood loop, looping both your lives and your hearts together with each step. That’s Marine Corps friendship at its finest—simple, sacred, and fiercely supportive.

If you’ve ever had a deep belly laugh with someone over a kitchen table full of takeout, cried over coffee as the moving truck pulled away, or watched your kids grow up together for a season—you know that Marine Corps friendships run deep, fast. These are the friends who step in when family can’t. They are there for the late-night calls, last-minute childcare, deployment blues, and everything in between. They are your people—until it’s time to go. And that part? That’s tough.

Saying goodbye never really gets easier, but maybe the mindset can.

Here’s the thing: not every friendship is meant to last forever in the way we often expect. Some people come into our lives for a reason, some for a season, and a rare few for life. That doesn’t make any one of them less special. Marine Corps friendships are often deep, even if they’re not long. And sometimes, it’s okay to leave that bond where it bloomed—at that duty station, in that season of life.

In today’s world of thousands of Facebook “friends,” we can feel pressure to keep every connection alive, all the time. But we aren’t meant to carry every relationship forward in the same way. Physically and emotionally, we just can’t do it. That doesn’t make you a bad friend—it makes you human.

I have some incredible friends I don’t talk to regularly, but they still hold a permanent place in my heart. Our friendship just looks different now. A quick message, a shared memory on social media, or a surprise postcard can remind us we’re still there for each other—even if it’s not every day.

And for the friendships you do want to keep close, there are ways to do that too. Group texts, voice memos, quick FaceTimes, or planning to reunite at your next overlapping duty station—they all count. But let those relationships evolve naturally, without guilt or pressure.

So when the boxes are packed and the goodbyes start, don’t put the weight of forever on your shoulders. Just smile, hug tight, and say see you later.

Because in this community, later really does happen more often than you think. And the friendships we build—on hot pavement, around the loop, at the kitchen table—will always matter, no matter how long they last.

About the Author:

Marta Sullivan is a veteran and spouse of an active-duty Marine. She is passionate about programs and initiatives that support and promote the well-being, quality of life, professional development, and economic opportunity of military spouses, veterans, and their families. She currently serves as Vice President, Marine and Spouse Programs at the Marine Corps Association.

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