Man must have hit with ol Snake Eyes. Hey if you feel you’re entitled as a service member, rock it man, and um...thank you for your service.
Here’s the deal with entitlement. When you feel you are owed something you inevitably start to feel resentment when everyone that did not serve walks by you without thanking you or grovel or whatever.
Here the deal with “service” and um maybe the term being a “quiet professional” applies, maybe not. Anyway if you relegate your mindset to understand you service in the “service” then you quickly realize that whether you are a door kicking operator, or fueling up humvees, the pride of knowing you played a part others wouldn’t. You realize that even though many Americans don’t serve, or don’t want to, or look down on you, or look up to you, it doesn’t matter. It feels good to know that self worth and not the need for some civilian to validate my service with a half hearted breathing or free cheese burger.
Should every vet go to the VA? Sure, but unfortunately that is common knowledge that’s why there is a flood in the VA for guys trying to get paid for in grown toenails or fictitious injuries just to get paid. I’ve seen it myself. Sad that those veterans feel that an ingrown toenail and may have served but never FOUGHT for this country ouch back and delay a guy that gave both legs for his country. I guess you can stand in line too to let the VA know that you were around a burn pit once too. In the years culmatively spent between Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m familiar with sucking in some burn pit smoke, among other austere conditions. That’s from the start of the war til recent. I can honestly say that each time we were forced to document exposure to pits, chems, du rounds, etc. So unless I have a service connected malady which I’ve incurred a couple, I don’t think I’ll be clogging up the line until I need to. Not saying we can’t improve the VA, that whole system needs an overhaul for sure.
But all that said I still don’t feel entitled to anything, not even a thank you. It’s service and I serve the people of these great American states. Is my job of more value than say umm the cashier at ACE hardware? A cook, a carpenter, a construction worker? How about cops, firemen, and EMTs? Military contractors, civil severents? No one thanks the single mom working two jobs to make ends meet. A mom who chose the wrong guy and thru no fault of her own is now struggling thru life. She loves this county and would serve but can’t cause the kids so she plows away working and paying her taxes...her taxes which oh look, pay for military paychecks!!?? We should be thanking her for paying for our “entitlements.”
Anyway you have every right to feel that veterans are entitled to whatever. Right on, and like I said I Thank the Nam guys for the hard work they did in getting us where we are today.
I’ll continue to be of the opinion serving implies just that, service, and requires no applause or recognition. I speak from my experience, you speak from yours. I don’t know what is is you do for our country and it isn’t important what I do either, but I highly doubt you haven’t seen the guy that has that everyone owes me chip on his shoulder. Or maybe it’s you, I don’t know, it’s irrelevent either way, to each their own. I personally do not like and am embarrassed when I get the “thank you for your service thing” I know it is well intentioned and I never make someone feel bad for saying it. A simple smile and return well thank you sir/mam and off I go.
Here’s the deal with entitlement. When you feel you are owed something you inevitably start to feel resentment when everyone that did not serve walks by you without thanking you or grovel or whatever.
Here the deal with “service” and um maybe the term being a “quiet professional” applies, maybe not. Anyway if you relegate your mindset to understand you service in the “service” then you quickly realize that whether you are a door kicking operator, or fueling up humvees, the pride of knowing you played a part others wouldn’t. You realize that even though many Americans don’t serve, or don’t want to, or look down on you, or look up to you, it doesn’t matter. It feels good to know that self worth and not the need for some civilian to validate my service with a half hearted breathing or free cheese burger.
Should every vet go to the VA? Sure, but unfortunately that is common knowledge that’s why there is a flood in the VA for guys trying to get paid for in grown toenails or fictitious injuries just to get paid. I’ve seen it myself. Sad that those veterans feel that an ingrown toenail and may have served but never FOUGHT for this country ouch back and delay a guy that gave both legs for his country. I guess you can stand in line too to let the VA know that you were around a burn pit once too. In the years culmatively spent between Iraq and Afghanistan, I’m familiar with sucking in some burn pit smoke, among other austere conditions. That’s from the start of the war til recent. I can honestly say that each time we were forced to document exposure to pits, chems, du rounds, etc. So unless I have a service connected malady which I’ve incurred a couple, I don’t think I’ll be clogging up the line until I need to. Not saying we can’t improve the VA, that whole system needs an overhaul for sure.
But all that said I still don’t feel entitled to anything, not even a thank you. It’s service and I serve the people of these great American states. Is my job of more value than say umm the cashier at ACE hardware? A cook, a carpenter, a construction worker? How about cops, firemen, and EMTs? Military contractors, civil severents? No one thanks the single mom working two jobs to make ends meet. A mom who chose the wrong guy and thru no fault of her own is now struggling thru life. She loves this county and would serve but can’t cause the kids so she plows away working and paying her taxes...her taxes which oh look, pay for military paychecks!!?? We should be thanking her for paying for our “entitlements.”
Anyway you have every right to feel that veterans are entitled to whatever. Right on, and like I said I Thank the Nam guys for the hard work they did in getting us where we are today.
I’ll continue to be of the opinion serving implies just that, service, and requires no applause or recognition. I speak from my experience, you speak from yours. I don’t know what is is you do for our country and it isn’t important what I do either, but I highly doubt you haven’t seen the guy that has that everyone owes me chip on his shoulder. Or maybe it’s you, I don’t know, it’s irrelevent either way, to each their own. I personally do not like and am embarrassed when I get the “thank you for your service thing” I know it is well intentioned and I never make someone feel bad for saying it. A simple smile and return well thank you sir/mam and off I go.