Military service- what do say?

[ricks_RR]

thats awesome

 

[Armycopter]

I always say thank you but it still makes me uncomfortable. I am proud to serve but I don’t really like getting recognized for it. I DO appreciate the sentiment from people though.

 

[1967coronet]

The Korea Vets are the forgotten ones.

 

[dart4forte]

I never show or wear anything that shows I'm a Vet, as a matter of fact. I hate the term "thank you for your service", it's to damm generic! Why don't you tell me how you really feel about my service instead of some generic crap!! I just say thanks and be on my way! People need to start being more creative in their speech and get away from the SOS statements all the time!! JMHO

It’s more than just words, it’s respect.

 

[cr8crshr]

It’s more than just words, it’s respect.

Agreed John but so often it sounds like a condescending lip service when it shouldn't be. As stated above, so many of us don't need that at every check out or encounter where the Veteran moniker is shown. Or given. We did it and then moved on with our lives. If you catch my meaning...cr8crshr/Bill

 

[ksurfer2]

I just say thank you. It does make me a little uneasy sometimes. My years of peacetime service in the Navy were a cakewalk compared to many vets. I feel like taking credit for my service "diminishes" the service of those who sacrificed so much more than I did.

 

[Dajkzo]

I just say thank you. It does make me a little uneasy sometimes. My years of peacetime service in the Navy were a cakewalk compared to many vets. I feel like taking credit for my service "diminishes" the service of those who sacrificed so much more than I did.

I feel a little embarrassed at times. I think we all do because a good person is humble. No one has any control over world events. You deal with the situation. I ended up with PTSD (symptoms were a hypervigilant state of mind). I have a lot of memories I could do without. Maybe what I should say is "Ah, it was nothing, just did what had to be done".

 

[Ray70Chrg]

I agree with those who feel a bit uncomfortable but have come to accept it by internally accepting it for all veterans who passed and were never thanked for anything. I feel that, at that moment, I am just a symbol for all of us who have served and it's not only for me.

 

[70chall440]

I think that initially (right after 9/11) it was novel and a bit refreshing to hear the words especially from people who probably had never really thought much about service people. However, shortly thereafter I saw a couple of things occur which soured it for me pretty much;

first is I saw people who used this sentiment to profit, whether it was to get a seat upgrade on a plane or whatever. Some of these people were actual service members whereas others were people that might have served at some point but it was dubious whether they had or not. This is when all of the posers came out of the woodwork along with a population of people who were kicked out or left with less than honorable discharges. Telling them "thank you for your service" to me is a slap in the face of everyone who did serve honorably. These are usually the people who initiate the "vet" discussion in the first place and who insinuate some horrible experience in combat as a mechanism to guilt the unknowing into giving them something or doing something for them.

The other thing I have noticed is that the "thank you for your service" has become more of a social construct than an honest thank you. Some of the people are saying it in all reality could give a crap less about someone's service, they are saying it because they think it is expected.

I don't need the public to thank me, I did what I did because I wanted to and I genuinely loved it. I got to go to a lot of cool places, spend a lot of tax payer money on some neat things, blow a lot of **** up, etc. As far as I am concerned it was a very even trade and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yes, it sucked at times and no recruiting commercial could ever capture the true essence of what it is like, but again I personally took the hard path because that is the one that i was interested in and excelled at. Even though my service was predominately in Special Operations, I thanked everyone and anyone who help me/us do our job and as I told many a young soldier who asked about potentially coming into SF; the Army needs excellent clerks, truck drivers, mechanics, etc in order to properly function. We could not have done our job without the support of the overall system as well as the other branches. Everyone has a part to play and it was always my biggest wish that those people were good at their jobs so that I could do mine. While SOF operations get a lot of attention and media coverage, they could not function without everyone else and unfortunately that does get lost, but let me just say this to everyone out there; regardless of your service, job, length of service, etc. I thank you for going out of your way to do whatever it was you did and I hope you enjoyed it and were good at it.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I think that initially (right after 9/11) it was novel and a bit refreshing to hear the words especially from people who probably had never really thought much about service people. However, shortly thereafter I saw a couple of things occur which soured it for me pretty much;

first is I saw people who used this sentiment to profit, whether it was to get a seat upgrade on a plane or whatever. Some of these people were actual service members whereas others were people that might have served at some point but it was dubious whether they had or not. This is when all of the posers came out of the woodwork along with a population of people who were kicked out or left with less than honorable discharges. Telling them "thank you for your service" to me is a slap in the face of everyone who did serve honorably. These are usually the people who initiate the "vet" discussion in the first place and who insinuate some horrible experience in combat as a mechanism to guilt the unknowing into giving them something or doing something for them.

The other thing I have noticed is that the "thank you for your service" has become more of a social construct than an honest thank you. Some of the people are saying it in all reality could give a crap less about someone's service, they are saying it because they think it is expected.

I don't need the public to thank me, I did what I did because I wanted to and I genuinely loved it. I got to go to a lot of cool places, spend a lot of tax payer money on some neat things, blow a lot of **** up, etc. As far as I am concerned it was a very even trade and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yes, it sucked at times and no recruiting commercial could ever capture the true essence of what it is like, but again I personally took the hard path because that is the one that i was interested in and excelled at. Even though my service was predominately in Special Operations, I thanked everyone and anyone who help me/us do our job and as I told many a young soldier who asked about potentially coming into SF; the Army needs excellent clerks, truck drivers, mechanics, etc in order to properly function. We could not have done our job without the support of the overall system as well as the other branches. Everyone has a part to play and it was always my biggest wish that those people were good at their jobs so that I could do mine. While SOF operations get a lot of attention and media coverage, they could not function without everyone else and unfortunately that does get lost, but let me just say this to everyone out there; regardless of your service, job, length of service, etc. I thank you for going out of your way to do whatever it was you did and I hope you enjoyed it and were good at it.

Well said! The tip of the spear is only as sharp as those who keep it sharp by excelling at their job as a part of the whole. Air crews for example....

 

[ricks_RR]

i have never served i miss everything dont know why but i would have gone just like everyone else . so i told myself that i would help some how to help our vets so for the pass 35 years i have made shore that 100% of every fund raiser i did go's to a vet group . and along the way to thank them when i saw them or met one . we have taken in a homeless vets and helped them get what was there . and picked them up so they could live again . and they all are doing good and the door is always open
SO THANK YOU

 

[70chall440]

Very true, we could not have done much without the support of good air crews/frames.

 

[Wojo68]

I was in, in the mid 80’s. Not a lot going on,, Panama, Grenada. Couldn’t hold a candle to what the guys have seen since then. It does feel a little weird when someone says that to me. Very humbled by it. I just say, thank you.

 

[ACME A12]

I think that initially (right after 9/11) it was novel and a bit refreshing to hear the words especially from people who probably had never really thought much about service people. However, shortly thereafter I saw a couple of things occur which soured it for me pretty much;

first is I saw people who used this sentiment to profit, whether it was to get a seat upgrade on a plane or whatever. Some of these people were actual service members whereas others were people that might have served at some point but it was dubious whether they had or not. This is when all of the posers came out of the woodwork along with a population of people who were kicked out or left with less than honorable discharges. Telling them "thank you for your service" to me is a slap in the face of everyone who did serve honorably. These are usually the people who initiate the "vet" discussion in the first place and who insinuate some horrible experience in combat as a mechanism to guilt the unknowing into giving them something or doing something for them.

The other thing I have noticed is that the "thank you for your service" has become more of a social construct than an honest thank you. Some of the people are saying it in all reality could give a crap less about someone's service, they are saying it because they think it is expected.

I don't need the public to thank me, I did what I did because I wanted to and I genuinely loved it. I got to go to a lot of cool places, spend a lot of tax payer money on some neat things, blow a lot of **** up, etc. As far as I am concerned it was a very even trade and I would do it again in a heartbeat. Yes, it sucked at times and no recruiting commercial could ever capture the true essence of what it is like, but again I personally took the hard path because that is the one that i was interested in and excelled at. Even though my service was predominately in Special Operations, I thanked everyone and anyone who help me/us do our job and as I told many a young soldier who asked about potentially coming into SF; the Army needs excellent clerks, truck drivers, mechanics, etc in order to properly function. We could not have done our job without the support of the overall system as well as the other branches. Everyone has a part to play and it was always my biggest wish that those people were good at their jobs so that I could do mine. While SOF operations get a lot of attention and media coverage, they could not function without everyone else and unfortunately that does get lost, but let me just say this to everyone out there; regardless of your service, job, length of service, etc. I thank you for going out of your way to do whatever it was you did and I hope you enjoyed it and were good at it.

Very sound commentary. I completely understand how and why you might have soured on the public's practice of thanking a Vet somewhat. I served a decade after the end of Vietnam. So as a youth I saw what those returning Vietnam Vets endured, and growing up a military brat I was always in tune with the prevailing public sentiments towards the military - which generally was not so good at that time. So regardless of any of the negatives associated with this, I still much prefer so see Vets being thanked today - even if much of it is lip service, canned responses, and lavished upon the undeserving - than to perpetuate the thankless (or worse) public attitudes which plagued our Vietnam Vets.

 

[Wojo68]

The Korea Vets are the forgotten ones.

Not by me. My buddy’s dad was at Chosin. Legit badass!

 

[70chall440]

i have never served i miss everything dont know why but i would have gone just like everyone else . so i told myself that i would help some how to help our vets so for the pass 35 years i have made shore that 100% of every fund raiser i did go's to a vet group . and along the way to thank them when i saw them or met one . we have taken in a homeless vets and helped them get what was there . and picked them up so they could live again . and they all are doing good and the door is always open
SO THANK YOU

I have met a lot of people who did not serve and many of them express similar sentiments to which I say this, the military is a job generally just like everything else. Granted, it does have different aspects to it however just like all jobs it is not necessarily for everyone. I have always said that you do not choose your career, it chooses you but I also acknowledge that each person sets a path at some point. In the end and as the saying goes, it takes everyone to make the world go around and around. A person cannot live with regret or the thoughts of "could of" "would of", we all do what we do and once done there is no going back. You have to look forward and try and live the best life you can.

I once asked an old multi tour VN Special Forces vet (a guy I was on a team with back in the 80's) about how he felt about people who fled to Canada or dodged the draft back in the 60's and his answer was surprising. He said something like the following "during that time every person had to make his/her own decision about what was right for them, I do not feel any hate or anger towards someone who did not serve or even fled the country, they had their convictions like I had mine and to be honest, I was much happier in country with people who wanted to be there rather than those who came over just because they had no other choice or felt that society expected them to. This is specifically why I went into Special Forces, because I knew that those in there wanted to be there".

So, in short we all have to live our lives individually and while we all have some regret, you have to let it go and move on. Thank and supporting the veteran community is commendable but do me one favor, do not wholesale believe every person who says they were a vet because there are far too many who weren't and they steal the honor from those who did serve and make the ultimate sacrifice. I know you probably do not feel it is your place to question someone claiming to be a vet, but a true vet will appreciate you asking and verifying their service because they know how many D bags are running around getting the accolades and support due to vets when they themselves did nothing to earn them. I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I have been contacted many times by people asking to verify someone and in today's world you can do it on a phone in literally seconds.

 

[dart4forte]

Agreed John but so often it sounds like a condescending lip service when it shouldn't be. As stated above, so many of us don't need that at every check out or encounter where the Veteran moniker is shown. or given. We did it and then moved on with our lives. If you catch my meaning...cr8crshr/Bill

Some outlets like Home Depot require their employees to extend a thanks to veterans

 

[dart4forte]

I have met a lot of people who did not serve and many of them express similar sentiments to which I say this, the military is a job generally just like everything else. Granted, it does have different aspects to it however just like all jobs it is not necessarily for everyone. I have always said that you do not choose your career, it chooses you but I also acknowledge that each person sets a path at some point. In the end and as the saying goes, it takes everyone to make the world go around and around. A person cannot live with regret or the thoughts of "could of" "would of", we all do what we do and once done there is no going back. You have to look forward and try and live the best life you can.

I once asked an old multi tour VN Special Forces vet (a guy I was on a team with back in the 80's) about how he felt about people who fled to Canada or dodged the draft back in the 60's and his answer was surprising. He said something like the following "during that time every person had to make his/her own decision about what was right for them, I do not feel any hate or anger towards someone who did not serve or even fled the country, they had their convictions like I had mine and to be honest, I was much happier in country with people who wanted to be there rather than those who came over just because they had no other choice or felt that society expected them to. This is specifically why I went into Special Forces, because I knew that those in there wanted to be there".

So, in short we all have to live our lives individually and while we all have some regret, you have to let it go and move on. Thank and supporting the veteran community is commendable but do me one favor, do not wholesale believe every person who says they were a vet because there are far too many who weren't and they steal the honor from those who did serve and make the ultimate sacrifice. I know you probably do not feel it is your place to question someone claiming to be a vet, but a true vet will appreciate you asking and verifying their service because they know how many D bags are running around getting the accolades and support due to vets when they themselves did nothing to earn them. I cannot speak for anyone other than myself, but I have been contacted many times by people asking to verify someone and in today's world you can do it on a phone in literally seconds.

Well said

 

[hemi71x]

Some outlets like Home Depot require their employees to extend a thanks to veterans

I wasn't aware of that, but glad that they say thank's to me, at the check out line, or wandering around the aisles in the store, if i'm wearing my cap.

 

[Ghostrider 67]

I have been asked only once to verify my claims. At a bike rally. The guy was half in the bag but I still accommodated him by showing him my retired ID card. I have no heartburn with such requests.