Why Your Veteran Dad Wakes Up at 0430 and Will Never Stop

It’s Saturday. Nobody has anywhere to be. The rest of the world sleeps until a reasonable hour like civilized human beings.

Your dad has already been awake for two hours.

He’s checked the perimeter (walked around the house), secured the area (confirmed all doors are locked), and conducted a recon mission (scrolled through three news apps while drinking coffee in complete darkness because turning on lights would “wake everyone up”).

This isn’t insomnia. This is two decades of conditioning that no amount of civilian life will undo.

The military didn’t just give him a sleep schedule. It rewired his internal clock at a DNA level. His circadian rhythm doesn’t know that formations ended in 2008. His body still believes that sleeping past 0500 is a moral failing.

The Phases of Early Rising

Phase One (Years 1-5 post-service): He tries to sleep in. Sets no alarms. Lies in bed awake at 0430 anyway, staring at the ceiling, waiting for a reveille that will never come.

Phase Two (Years 5-10): He accepts his fate. Finds early morning hobbies. Becomes suspiciously knowledgeable about weather patterns and local traffic reports that don’t affect him.

Phase Three (Years 10+): He leans in. The gym opens at 0500 and he’s the first one there. He knows the morning staff by name. They’ve formed a silent brotherhood of people who exercise before sunrise for reasons they can’t fully explain.

The Silver Lining

By 0800, he’s accomplished more than most people do by noon. The yard is mowed. The car is washed. He’s three chapters into a book. He’s also taken a “quick nap” in his recliner with a football game he’s “definitely still watching.”

Ask him if he misses sleeping in. He’ll say no. He’s lying. But at this point, his body physically cannot comply even if he wanted to.

The military may have released him from service, but it never released his alarm clock. That enlistment is for life.