This one came over the transom from the Mil email net…
To understand a Military Veteran you must know:
We left home as teenagers or in our early twenties for an unknown adventure.
We loved our country enough to defend it and protect it with our own lives.
We said goodbye to friends and family and everything we knew.
We learned the basics and then we scattered in the wind to the far corners of the Earth.
We found new friends and new family.
We became brothers and sisters regardless of color, race or creed.
We had plenty of good times, and plenty of bad times.
We didn’t get enough sleep.
We smoked and drank too much.
We picked up both good and bad habits.
We worked hard and played harder.
We didn’t earn a great wage.
We experienced the happiness of mail call and the sadness of missing important events.
We didn’t know when, or even if, we were ever going to see home again.
We grew up fast, and yet somehow, we never grew up at all.
We fought for our freedom, as well as the freedom of others.
Some of us saw actual combat, and some of us didn’t.
Some of us saw the world, and some of us didn’t.
Some of us dealt with physical warfare, most of us dealt with psychological warfare.
We have seen and experienced and dealt with things that we can’t fully describe or explain, as not all of our sacrifices were physical.
We participated in time honored ceremonies and rituals with each other, strengthening our bonds and camaraderie.
We counted on each other to get our job done and sometimes to survive it at all.
We have dealt with victory and tragedy.
We have celebrated and mourned.
We lost a few along the way.
When our adventure was over, some of us went back home, some of us started somewhere new and some of us never came home at all.
We have told amazing and hilarious stories of our exploits and adventures.
We share an unspoken bond with each other, that most people don’t experience, and few will understand.
We speak highly of our own branch of service, and poke fun at the other branches.
We know however, that, if needed, we will be there for our brothers and sisters and stand together as one, in a heartbeat.
Being a Veteran is something that had to be earned, and it can never be taken away.
It has no monetary value, but at the same time it is a priceless gift.
People see a Veteran and they thank them for their service.
When we see each other, we give that little upwards head nod, or a slight smile, knowing that we have shared and experienced things that most people have not.
So, from myself to the rest of the veterans out there, I commend and thank you for all that you have done and sacrificed for your country.
Try to remember the good times and make peace with the bad times.
Share your stories.
But most importantly, stand tall and proud, for you have earned the right to be called a Veteran.
I’m a VETERAN! I WOULD DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN!
I don’t disagree with any of this. We were changed by our experiences in ways few that have not experienced it can understand. Not all the scars are external. If you know a vet who is having problems, reach out! You just might save a life.
And due to House inaction, the Hannon Act already passed by the Senate to assist Veterans has been STALLED since August by the House over ‘concerns’… Get on the damn phone to your reps and tell them to get off their asses as pass it! They can come back and add stuff later! Article HERE.
Yes. retired EMCS(SS), 22 years.
In the community I lived in, if you didn’t serve you were never completely respected.
I learned management and responsibility in a way I may never have otherwise. And travel.
The House is playing party politics, don’t expect anything good out of them until after the election. And then depending on how things go, don’t expect anything good out of them after the election.
They really don’t want yet another landmark piece of legislation with President Trump’s signature on it.
Which clearly defines them as ‘enemies domestic’ in my book. Playing with people’s mental state to score brownie points in some invisible and stupid game is just wrong. Our veteran forefathers would have had strong words and stronger deeds in response to such skullduggery.
Veterans are the glue that holds a moral society together. Probably the reason why the left so hates veterans, as they hate a moral society. I’m not talking about booze or rough behavior, I’m talking about the morals that matter, following reasonable laws, maintaining a moral structure that can withstand some deviancy.
Thank you all, every day, for what you’ve done.
I believe our country would be a different place if two years of military service was compulsory upon leaving high school. Certainly, none of this “black lives matter” crap wouldn’t exist, as there wouldn’t be enough suckers out there who hadn’t experienced “We’re all blue” or “We’re all green.” Nor would there be enough weak minded, “entitled” individuals who could be talked into hating their country. Alas, things are what they are…
Tom, a while back I read an article that stated that a high percentage of today’s youth wouldn’t meet minimum requirements for military service. IQ, physical fitness or education would rule them out.Thinking further so many of our “yout” are too maladapted by age 18 to be of any use.I get your point. I look at some of these young people with their profound judgmental opinions about how the world should work and think what was I doing at your age. at 21 I was an e-5 in the Air Force, married,a dad.
Spent 12 years in the Air Force. Made E-6 in 7 years at about the 10 year mark got orders for Germany. Family issues required me to decline to extend my enlistment resulting in me becoming ineligible to reenlist and red lining my promotion to E-7. I’ve often wished I could have continued. Going to night school on base I had a BA and just started on my MA when I got out. My commander offered to recommend me for OCS but I had to weigh that against losing my kids and declined. over all I found it to be a good life.
I was the first in my family to serve since the “Civil War” of the 1860’s.
Two of my younger brothers followed.
I am scarred, but proud to be a veteran – I am glad that I served.
All- Thank you for your service. I agree with Tom, and I DO think the draft should be reinstituted for both men AND women… Equal is equal… Mandatory service is a ‘thing’ in many countries that seem to be much more stable than we are today… sigh
Thank you for your service
OCS alumni went to Ft. Benning for a reunion a few years back.
While there we were briefed how the program has changed.
The majority of DNF’s are due to musculo-skeletal issues…
Too many video games- not enough sandlot sports. These are kids with the intelligence and desire, failing physically.
And we’re doing nothing to change that.
Ricky- Thanks
GB- Yep, they haven’t grown up ‘playing’ outside like we did. Sigh
Served fairly recently. The amount of retards I dealt with that were there voluntarily makes me wary of compulsory service.
I had enough belligerent shitheads that resented being there without the thought of adding more against their will. Might be different in a serious WW3 style time of war, but compulsory service for GWOT wouldn’t be a positive thing.
That being said, good times, mostly. ” I like how this sucks” about sums it up.
I totally agree that military service should be mandatory. For those who wasted their high school years with video games, thereby making them physically unfit for the military, they should also be “drafted” and made to overcome their inadequacies “the military way of training”. The time it takes to bring them up to speed, does not count toward their mandatory service. PERIOD! Plain and simple. Anyone caught protesting against anything to do with our country, before or after military service should be imprisoned. Before mandatory military, I guess we can understand they are just young and “uneducated” about reality. After military service, if someone protests about our country, they were and always be misfits and not deserve to live and enjoy the great gifts this country has to offer. I could go on and on, but I will step down from my soapbox….
John, I was going to say that I heartily disagree with you, but instead I will just say “Fuck You”.
I served in the military during wartime and I hold an honorable discharge. If I disagree with something *MY* country is doing, and decide to protest it, I most certainly WILL. I have *EARNED* that right.
…and there’s not a damn thing you can do about it.
Roy STS1(SS) USN
John, The freedom to disagree is fundamental.
Some of us were “mole men”; missileers. I estimate I woke up under the gravel about 270 times. I’m a member of the Loyal Order Of Mole-Men. Although, now that women are missileers, it’s the Loyal Order Of Mole-People.
Heath- Good point!
John- ‘Interesting’ take on it.
Roy- Thanks.
Sam- Kudos to you. I couldn’t have done that on a bet!
It was a long period of my life. And it was still over faster than I could blink. My body is slower and yet, somehow, I’m still that kid who passed in review for graduation. Weird.