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424

The spark of just how to express this came to me today, which is why this appears now - yet this has been my opinion on the matter for some time. I am a Navy veteran, somewhat recent. I use "we" a few times here, but not claiming to speak for all.

I hate "thank you for your service" and Veterans Recognitions ("would veterans and active-duty please stand to be recognized?" "For tonight's halftime we honor _____, a wounded soldier...").

I think deep down, most of us don't want to express just how much we hate it. I think, as a corrollary, that most veterans are at the very least uncomfortable with it; feelings ranging from that to hatred.

I think we don't fight it because we consider it a continuation of our service NOT to allow the public to know "what it really was like."

"What is really was like" to serve depends on when and where you serve(d) and what your job was; what you were asked to do or experienced. But the manner in which it departs from the generalized civilian concept of service (decades of movies, even realistic ones, have developed a small set of archetypical service) can probably be selected from the following:

  • Didn't see combat / in support roles / most of service was at a desk / never deployed (this is more and more common; a lot of bloat... fatties and prego women getting cushy jobs and all the benefits & societal credit for "service") - these folks are (or should be) embarrassed that their service was nowhere near as dangerous or exciting as what is imagined by the person uttering "thank you for your service")

  • Saw people die or get mutilated / killed a lot of people and now brain is fucked (this is as bad or worse than the archetypes... "shell-shock" and explains a big part of why WW2 vets didn't want to talk about anything... don't let the public know the true nature of the war)

  • Realized, or now realizes, that the "service" was not noble or necessary (this may be a redpilled individual, knows about "fighting for the jews" or maybe it wasn't for Israel, it was the other side of the world spying on someone we have no discernable reason to be angry at or suspicious of... "why are we here?" - it may be too classified or just too complicated to explain that the "service" was doing really shady things)

Engaging someone with a good intention/heart telling you "thank you for your service" and attempting to explain any of the above is just not, by and large, something a veteran tends to want to do. We like to keep it in the past and make decisions TODAY with all of YESTERDAY's knowledge. Not worth the time and not worth coming off as an ungrateful asshole, or a crazy person. So generally I respond with as neutral an acknowledgement as I can think of:

"I appreciate the sentiment."

I stand and get clapped at with other vets. I probably don't know them or anything they did; the public assumes there is some lingering "bond" between vets. Not unless you knew them personally. I try to look appreciative and sit back down (not too early or not too late) to speed along the public's forgetting my service once again.

What would we veterans want from the public then? Don't know exactly. Start with destroying VA healthcare system and paying for the amount of statutory care we earn (based on disability or retirement or whatever), but we can choose whatever civilian clinics or doctors or hospitals to attend. Stop putting us on a pedestal and/or using servicemembers as advertisements or "good PR"; take "us" out of the spotlight.

What are your thoughts?

The spark of just how to express this came to me today, which is why this appears now - yet this has been my opinion on the matter for some time. I am a Navy veteran, somewhat recent. I use "we" a few times here, but not claiming to speak for all. I hate "thank you for your service" and Veterans Recognitions ("would veterans and active-duty please stand to be recognized?" "For tonight's halftime we honor _____, a wounded soldier..."). **I think deep down, most of us don't want to express just how much we hate it.** I think, as a corrollary, that most veterans are at the very least uncomfortable with it; feelings ranging from that to hatred. **I think we don't fight it because we consider it a continuation of our service NOT to allow the public to know "what it really was like."** "What is really was like" to serve depends on when and where you serve(d) and what your job was; what you were asked to do or experienced. But the manner in which it departs from the generalized civilian concept of service (decades of movies, even realistic ones, have developed a small set of archetypical service) can probably be selected from the following: * *Didn't see combat / in support roles / most of service was at a desk / never deployed* (this is more and more common; a lot of bloat... fatties and prego women getting cushy jobs and all the benefits & societal credit for "service") - these folks are (or should be) embarrassed that their service was nowhere near as dangerous or exciting as what is imagined by the person uttering "thank you for your service") * *Saw people die or get mutilated / killed a lot of people and now brain is fucked* (this is as bad or worse than the archetypes... "shell-shock" and explains a big part of why WW2 vets didn't want to talk about anything... don't let the public know the true nature of the war) * *Realized, or now realizes, that the "service" was not noble or necessary* (this may be a redpilled individual, knows about "fighting for the jews" or maybe it wasn't for Israel, it was the other side of the world spying on someone we have no discernable reason to be angry at or suspicious of... "why are we here?" - it may be too classified or just too complicated to explain that the "service" was doing really shady things) **Engaging someone with a good intention/heart telling you "thank you for your service" and attempting to explain any of the above is just not, by and large, something a veteran tends to want to do.** We like to keep it in the past and make decisions TODAY with all of YESTERDAY's knowledge. Not worth the time and not worth coming off as an ungrateful asshole, or a crazy person. So generally I respond with as neutral an acknowledgement as I can think of: **"I appreciate the sentiment."** I stand and get clapped at with other vets. I probably don't know them or anything they did; the public assumes there is some lingering "bond" between vets. Not unless you knew them personally. I try to look appreciative and sit back down (not too early or not too late) to speed along the public's forgetting my service once again. *What would we veterans want from the public then?* Don't know exactly. Start with destroying VA healthcare system and paying for the amount of statutory care we earn (based on disability or retirement or whatever), but we can choose whatever civilian clinics or doctors or hospitals to attend. Stop putting us on a pedestal and/or using servicemembers as advertisements or "good PR"; take "us" out of the spotlight. What are your thoughts?

(post is archived)

[–] • 2 pts

Well this was informative at minimum. I stopped saying things like that while back, when I realized most of what the military does is feed money to companies hoping another war will start because its good for profit. Not saying I’m not grateful that when it’s actually needed the people are there to handle it but it’s far too often all for the sake of the bottom line. Sad state of affairs really.

[–] • 0 pt

most of what the military does is feed money to companies hoping another war will start because its good for profit

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I went to work for a defense contractor, even though I'm imminently desirable for those roles and they pay well.

[–] • 1 pt

Well good on you for sticking too your values. Most people seem to give up their values rather quickly for a paycheck.

[–] • 0 pt

It's hard... as I told Owlchemy below:

One entire side of my family (12+ individuals) all work(ed) for military then defense contractors

So I wanted to distance myself from that

[–] • 1 pt

I agree one hundred percent with your sentiment on 'thanks you for your service'. I don't like it either, as a ten year veteran of the AF. I was an ICBM electronics guy and I enjoyed it ... I never had to deploy because as a missile guy, my career was already considered a front line position, though I served keeping ICBMs up and running as a cold war deterrent. I've always been quite proud of that, but I also always figured the AF gave me more than I ever had to give it. I got a lifelong career that served me and my family well ... and for that, I'm grateful. No one needs to pat me on the back, I did what I did, got paid for it, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

On the defense contractor part though, I disagree big time. I was there, too, just as intimately involved fighting the cold war as I ever was in the military. It wasn't me who overcharged the government for this or that ... I simply did what needed to be done to keep Americans sleeping at night, only this time as a civilian using the training and experience I worked hard to hone in the AF. You can decry all the major military contractors all you want, but no Minuteman missile would be on alert, no nuclear sub would be plying the oceans, and no F-18 Hornet would be protecting our skies without a force of dedicated civilians working for Boeing, General Dynamics, Ratheon, you name it. Hate the system, not the people.

I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I went to work for a defense contractor, even though I'm imminently desirable for those roles and they pay well.

What I'm saying is ... the things I mastered in the AF were only a small part of who I was. I went on for another twenty-eight years contributing greatly to our country's defense. Without it's contractors, who exactly do you think would do their functions? There are still things I worked on and contributed that are in use today as a result of things I accomplished. I need no pat on the back, I was paid and again, I enjoyed every minute of both my AF and defense contractor careers. But to label defense contractors as something below your dignity is at best a slap in the face to those of us who worked our tails off for the people of the country I'm sure we both hold dear.

[–] • 1 pt (edited )

You can decry all the major military contractors all you want

One entire side of my family (12+ individuals) all work(ed) for military then defense contractors (some in ICBM silos too). I sure as shit wanted to prove I didn't need to become one to make it outside the military.

Don't take it as an attack, all I told you was what I felt about it

[–] • 1 pt

But again, who would do the work if defense contractors didn't. It's all part of the often maligned 'defense industrial complex', but it isn't those folks who are gaming the system. Does the system often stink ... sure ... does contractor X rip off the government by underbidding and then going over budget ... all the time. But that isn't on the guy building the guidance system or training troops how to operate a new advanced radar system. That's all I'm saying.

[–] • 1 pt

Nowhere have I claimed it was an activity without which our defense could be possible.

I just want no part of it anymore.