Good read.
I don't think that feeling he has is limited to war (although war probably produces the strongest examples). It's about when you are doing something "adventurous" whether war, a foriegn work assignment or perhaps even the Peace Corps. When you are doing adventurous you miss the routine, the access to hot showers, the inability to see a concert, etc, but once you get back you miss the adventure whether its haggling with local vendors or kicking down doors with your M4.
I think a lot of guys feel like they are "doing something that matters" when they are travelling. They are a part of something grand. War is just the ultimate example because they face they widest swings when they are there and when they get back. 20 year old soldiers have a lot of responsibility in Iraq. They might be in charge of several men. Then they get back and are delievering construction materials and they are the bottom rung on unimportant totem poll. It's a huge let down. You find yourself bored.
That's why Indiana Jones is having a 4th movie. His missed the adventure.
Don’t believe you are correct. The “adventure”, travel, peace corps, climbing mountains, risking, courting death, all that stuff, is not at all, not at all, not one bit, anything like experiencing war. I mean, not at all.
For instance, war is much more intense than raising a family, divorce, having mother and brother die, having cancer, and, I think, more intense than dying in bed. So much more intense that there is no comparison.