When do you stop identifying as a Veteran?

I’m with you on this, OP. War service is different than simply being a veteran of military employment.

Ugh I know OP. As an immigrant I don’t get the hero worship for “Vets”. It’s a fucking job.

Once a Marine, always a Marine!

WWII vets loved to talk about their war service, which I respected. But it’s like we have a militaristic society, now.

When you can't get a discount.

[quote]It’s a fucking job.

Uh, excuse me.

Which other "fucking job" requires you to literally put your life on the line for your country?

To hear soldiers, school teachers, and nurses tell it, NO ONE has ever had a harder job than they have.

R6 Police? Fire?

I can think of few harder jobs than the ones you mention, [R7]. Maybe coal miner or wood cutter would be more dangerous, but I doubt it would be more stressful.

Yes, OP. Canada is like this too. It used to be something that only WW1 and WW2 Vets would say, then people who served in the Gulf, Serbia and Afghanistan, but now it seems that anyone who was in the military calls themselves a veteran. We don't hero worship, bow and scrape to vets as much as Americans do, but we're getting there. We do have a lot of peacekeepers oversees and when they come home, they get a welcome which is often featured on the news.

R1

We’ve been in several wars now for 18 years. Most of them now HAVE seen wartime action. Don’t blame the veterans. Blame the asshole government that puts them in these wars and then doesn’t want to help them afterward.

[quote]When do you stop identifying as a Veteran?

That's easy: when you die. 'Til then, it's all whaa, whaa, whaa.

They have not one, but two national holidays. They get honored at nearly every public event, from concerts to football games. They get discounts. They get special treatment from political candidates, even debates and campaign events devoted solely to their interests. They have socialized medicine and enjoy some of the best care provided in this country, free of charge to them, but paid for by you and me.

And to add insult to injury, they voted for Trump despite the fact that he's taken funding bound for military and military support causes, and redirects it to his stupid wall... and they say nothing (unless they can somehow, in their fetid minds, find a way to blame one the of Clintons). And meanwhile, Trump is busy interceding in military justice cases, preventing the military from disciplining their out-of-control goons, putting everyone's lives in danger.

This country is fucked, and it's being led down the path to complete fuckery by a military that can't fight and win wars anymore, but man-in-sky forbid you mention this fact.

Lolololololol!.... OP is a fuckin Russian troll ! ….Or worse, an overly effeminate , passed over, mad at the world gay, that cruised a Vet at Home Depot and got ignored again.

I don't really mind it, maybe because my brother is serving. If another 9/11 happened it's scary to imagine that he would simply be shipped off to fight the enemy. No questions asked. That's a very unique job that places his life at the hands of politicians and faceless generals to advance the US's interests. He could die today or tomorrow defending this country, that's why he gets special treatment.

Funny enough, most enlisted people that aren't assholes don't give a damn about the accolades and hate the attention grabbing standing ovations in airports. I know my brother avoids handouts and doesn't like to talk about his deployments. He will even buy his own beer or meal, no handouts. Yes, my brother and many others will ask if a store offers a Military Discount, but can we really get on someone for saving a buck?

The people that grind my gears are the spouses and girlfriends that act like they are the first bitches to raise a child solo. Worse, they act like their sacrificing just as much as their husbands. They have a huge chip on their shoulders and I just want to tell them to fuck right off. There are single parents out there that don't have Uncle Same subsidizing their lives, with a man about to come home in a couple of months. Give me a damn break.

I have a friend, we will call her, Jenny. Jenny is gay and is an Airforce Vet. Every other day on FB she posts something and starts with, "I'm a Vet."

A mutual friend and I text each other, "Did you know Jenny is a Vet?" and we laugh and laugh...

The military is huge. Most in it haven’t served in a war zone. Vets get benefits in:

Priority boarding on some commercial planes. They get the last seat on standby, instead of you, regardless of your arrival time and order on the list.

Better terms on mortgages.

Better terms on car and personal insurance.

Sometimes, priority parking at the mall.

Free healthcare, valued at $6000-$12,000 per person, per year, for life.

Priority in employment hiring.

I’m an Army Veteran and 3 times deployed to combat. And gay. What’s your point?

Not every military veteran calls themselves a "Vet," first and foremost. My brother was in the U.S. Army and worked in the Pentagon, but he rarely talks about it.

As I get older, I actually do respect people who do military time. I'm talking about people with high school diplomas, no college. Why? They get kicked way out of their comfort zones (move out of parents' house, might end up in a foreign country). They also have to deal with a *ton* of bullshit, just within the confines of being in the military.

People who have college degrees and join, that's a different story. They are in a better situation at the start and at the end as well (officers).

Sometimes I have an overwhelming urge to smack those hats off of their heads.

R16 And a lot of them are still right wing assholes.

R14 Is a Republican.

Identifying as a Mommy is worse.

A veteran is usually ex army or someone with war experience. The job was not being a veteran. One becomes a veteran and you cannot escape that.

I've always understood, the DEFINITION of a VET is one who has served in a foreign war and is eligible for Veteran Affairs medical benefits for life. A Reservist ( who never deployed) and retires after only doing weekend drills for 20 years, is NOT by definition a VET. Abraham Lincoln affirming the government obligation to VETS and describing it , 'To care for him who shall have borne the battle' . OP, I'm sure your self serving, piss ant world perception is what stunts your awareness abilities. BUT... THATS why VETS get benefits. GOT IT OP ??…… GOOD!

Some are actually smart and they know the truth. More importantly, they do not fear the truth, and therefore don't rely on liars to dictate the "truth."

Exactly. Most of the "vets" from my high school joined the army as a last resort. But suddenly they are sacrificing EVERYTHING for the love of country. I don't think so. It was just the only job they could get and suddenly it's about service. The parking at the grocery store or Lowes is so stupid. It's a job like any other and you choose it. I am sure there are a few who truly do it for "love of country" but the military has a [police mentality and the ones I know do it for power. Not all, of course.

Don't get me started on the hardest job in the world that you get by forgetting to have the guy fucking you wear a condom. Nine months later, YOU'RE HIRED!

The men I know who served deserve to call themselves "Veterans" for the rest of their lives. One man is 95. At nineteen he lived through the Normandy invasion and had to hide wounded under a bridge from a German patrol. When he made it to a hospital, the doctors wanted to amputate his wounded leg. A nurse told him not to do it. He listened to her. He's a curmudgeon, but a kindly one. Two others are veterans of the Vietnam conflict, who never received a proper welcome home until recent years. A student of mine saw action in Iraq. He survived his tours, only rot get cancer once he got out of the Marines. He's a brave kid.

Shut up, OP.

Combat vets are different from vets. Most people are not combat vets, but they get to call themselves “veterans“, anyway. R24, the dictionary does not require a vet to be a combat vet. And in common parlance, if you served in the military, you’re a vet. Even if you were a computer specialist who worked at the Pentagon.

According to the VA, about 40% of vets are combat vets.

It’s like being gay. It sticks with you.

They sure know how to toss puppies

My father served in Korea. His older brothers were in WWII. Two of the brothers were officers who received honors for their heroism. They all had friends who served. NONE of them talked about it. They wanted to forget.

I asked one uncle about the theater of operation he served in because I was writing a paper about it for school. His only words on the subject were, tell your friends war is hell.

They were all knew a guy named Chet who always talked about his time in the Army. He was involved with the VFW. They ribbed him about it. In their minds, the only people who talked about the war or being a veteran were the people who didn’t actually do anything in the war.

Their hometown had a War Memorial that was a large granite obelisk (40-50’ tall, huge) that had the names of all the townspeople who didn’t make it back. My father and uncles thought those were the only people one should talk about when it came to military service.

[R26] It doesn't make any difference what the hell it is that drives people to join military. These recruits are vetted and ALOT are sent back home because they don't qualify. Your unemployable friends were tested and challenged beyond their wildest imagination. They emerged with a feeling of self worth and confidence they could NOT have gotten anywhere else. Not to mention a very competitive resume that civilian employees clamor for. No need to be condescending regarding these classmate 'VETS'. Also, I'm confused with the apples and oranges competitive comparison you made regarding 'being a mother vs being a VET' . The situation descriptions regarding these two designation and how they are earned is quite mutually exclusive. The perception of gratitude associated with these separate life designations is very different.

[quote] These recruits are vetted and ALOT are sent back home because they don't qualify. Your unemployable friends were tested and challenged beyond their wildest imagination.

Explain Chelsea Manning.

Chelsea went in as a competent , articulate, bright and capable young man. However (as we now know) she allowed an emerging flawed character to destroy a vow of service and duty. Plus, her affinity for open toe sling backs and jewel colored moo-moo's was too compelling. Bless her heart... sigh.

OH boo boo to you OP. Is your life so shit that you have to be jealous of someone else? Pull everyone down. That is your M.O.

It’s easy to be fatigued by the endless rounds of “thank you for your service” and special treatment of the 60% who aren't combat veterans.

"Which other "fucking job" requires you to literally put your life on the line for your country?"

Convenience store Clerk?

I think that most military people secretly know that the whole "veteran worship" is bogus and bullshit.

Yet I think they go along with the myth, for what they can get out of it. They get extra special treatment, everywhere they go. And they don't want to give that shit up.

That said, it's not their fault. They're not the ones promoting and perpetuating the myth. It's everyone ELSE doing it for them.

A veteran is forever

Never, because of America's weird deification of soldiers and war. In almost every other country in the world military service is a requirement and is treated basically the same as getting your driver's license, but since America has never had a mandatory service rule, we treat veterans like gods among men instead of everyday people.

there were three preferred designated parking spots for vets at LOWE's.... prime parking i tell you! i wanted to throw a potted geranium at their purple liscence plate.

As a retired officer and combat veteran, I can tell you, I'm always incredibly humbled when I get 'Thanked' for my service. Most of the time it comes from out of the blue and takes me by surprise. I definitely don't wear my service on my sleeve but I will always identify as a veteran. Just as I identify with being gay. Neither have been all that easy at times!

[quote]since America has never had a mandatory service rule

Well, except for the millions of men drafted to serve in World Wars I and II and then continuously, through the Korea and Vietnam wars, until 1973. Other than them, right, we've never had mandatory military service.

That oopsie aside, it's true that in the days when military service was compulsory, there was a lot less fuss. My father and almost every man of his generation was in the military during World War II. They did talk about the war - not combat, but the ancillary stuff, like Army BS and being stationed in England and that kind of thing - but it was pretty much a given for most men that they had been in the service, so it wasn't such a big deal.

At least veterans don’t suck all my tax dollars like cops or teachers.

We also had mandatory service during the civil war, with loopholes, especially for the wealthy.

....

Ameriikka is fucked. I respect veterans who fought against evil - WW2 and the Taliban. Otherwise, at best it’s a job, at worse you are a just a tool of militaristic ideology.

R47, that’s a good chart, though I wish they included deficit, too.