Basic Trope: A former military member has a family.
- Straight: Bob fought in World War II. When he came back, he went to college, married Alice, and had two kids with her. He is a Standard '50s Father and doesn't let his family forget that he rules the roost.
- Exaggerated:
- Bob is a decorated general and wears his uniform everywhere he goes.
- Bob and Alice fought in the Gulf War. When they came back, they went to college, married each other, and had two kids. They never let their children forget that they rule the roost.
- Downplayed: Bob served in the military, but he doesn't make a big deal out of it.
- Justified: Bob saw a lot of things, and still has a home life to make (or return to) after the war is over.
- Inverted:
- Although he is a bit overprotective, Bob never served in the military.
- Bob is a Bourgeois Bohemian or New-Age Retro Hippie.
- Bob fought in the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars. He's come home and is living with his father, who never went to war himself.
- Gender Inverted: Alice fought in the Gulf War. When she came back, she went to college, married Bob, and had two kids with him.
- Subverted: Although Bob did indeed serve in the military, he did not actually see combat. Instead, he was a cook, or worked in a clerical position, or even got Reassigned to Antarctica.
- Double Subverted:
- He might have been a cook, but that doesn't mean he doesn't know how to kick your ass anyway. And then cook a mean dinner afterwards.
- Bob wasn't a frontline guy, but his mostly-clerical stint in the military still instilled a dedication to proper documentation and discipline of order when it comes to one's belongings.
- Parodied:
- Bob like to engage into Rambling Old Man Monologues about his army days from time to time.
- Bob used to be a Drill Sergeant Nasty from hell that would make Gunnery Sergeant Hartman cringe with fear ... and he still acts like that now that he's a family man!
- Zig-Zagged: Bob is the patriarch of a family that lives in a Multigenerational Household. He fought in World War II, but his son David didn't fight in The Vietnam War. David's son Michael fought in Afghanistan. Michael's son Charles is a minor and all the older men in his family argue about whether and/or to what degree he should emulate them.
- Averted: Bob did not serve in the military, in any capacity.
- Enforced:
- "We need to do a story about The Generation Gap."
- "Let's give Bob a reason to be so protective of his daughter Catherine."
- Lampshaded: "Sorry Dad's so cranky. He fought in the war, and hasn't been the same since."
- Invoked: Bob joins the military during a major war, because when he has kids he wants to be able to tell them he fought for his country.
- Exploited: Daniel, who's interested in Catherine and wants to impress Bob, feigns great interest in the military, especially Bob's career in it.
- Defied: Bob doesn't let his veteran status give him a sense of entitlement. He runs the household, but isn't an ogre about it. If he needs help, he finds a way to get it.
- Discussed: ???
- Conversed: "How is the war going to affect Bob's home life?"
- Deconstructed:
- Bob is a Shell-Shocked Veteran, and that takes a toll on him, and also on his family. (Especially if they knew Bob before he went off to fight in the war, and saw how much he changed when he got back.) There may not be resources to help. If the story is set in The '60s or The '70s, there is also The Generation Gap; Bob may be frustrated because his veteran status doesn't seem to be as admired as it was a generation ago, and society is changing.
- Because Bob endured horrifying, traumatizing experiences during his service, his son David feels unable to approach him with his own seemingly less important emotional problems. David ends up hiding away his feelings and never seeking help for his problems, feeling like his only problem is that he isn't tough enough.
- Reconstructed:
- Bob gets some help to cope with his issues, and his family supports him.
- Bob's wife Dana notices the problems David is having and relays them to Bob. They both decide that David should see a therapist who can help him deal with his problems just like another therapist has been helping Bob. Bob tells his son that being tough means acknowledging when you need help, not pretending you don't have any problems. The therapy and his parents' support help David get better.
- Played for Drama:
- Catherine comes home from her first semester at Berserkley, and has joined the Hippie movement, which puts her in conflict with Bob.
- Bob's son David has decided he doesn't want to follow in Bob's footsteps and be a soldier.
- Bob is determined to find a woman with whom he'll spend the rest of his life — an endeavor that is complicated when he comes home to find himself a Stranger in a Familiar Land.
- Played for Laughs: Bob's attempts to relate to his children rely on Totally Radical slang, which produces Cringe Comedy.
- Implied: Bob is uptight and makes references to occurrences commonly associated with militaries, though whether he served is never confirmed or denied.
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