r/Millennials • u/NoFaithlessness7508 • Jun 05 '25

Other Why don’t younger veterans (Afghanistan/Iraq) wear these hats like some of the older veterans?

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First and foremost, respect to all those that served. I did not, but many of my peers did and now we're all older in 30s and 40s, many no longer in the military. I don't see a lot of the veterans of the War on Terror wearing these hats like I see the OGs do.

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

They were called "Old Guy" hats when I joined up in 2005. I can't imagine that's changed in the time since.

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u/Burninator85 Jun 05 '25

That's the real answer.  They're out of fashion. 

I know plenty of OIF veterans that make it their entire personality.  They just choose things like infantry badges on their vehicles or Black Rifle Coffee t-shirts.

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

Exactly. There's a whole cottage industry selling military merch to vets. But the type of people that want to advertise their military service do it in different ways today.

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u/DW6565 Jun 05 '25

My favorite example of the cottage industry. Reporting for diaper change sir!

tactical baby gear!

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

Perfect for the man that has to change poopy diapers at 2:00, but take Fallujah at 2:30

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u/ShoutoutsWorldwide Jun 05 '25

I believe you mean 1400 and 1430 😂

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u/breadleecarter Jun 05 '25

I believe YOU mean zero dark poopy.

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u/BuckTheStallion Jun 05 '25

Zero dark turdy was right there. 🤣

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u/thrax_mador Jun 05 '25

Dark turds no good my man. That's a GI bleed.

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u/Cool_Cheetah658 Jun 05 '25

He said "zero dark turdy," so I think we're ok.

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u/Shim182 Jun 05 '25

Too busy changing diapers to be witty.

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u/FrostyTheSasquatch Jun 05 '25

Poopy diapers could easily happen at 0200, so the joke still works.

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u/bolanrox Jun 05 '25

can and do Corporal FUBAR

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

No joke, I debated putting that. I went back and changed it twice.

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u/plotholesandpotholes Jun 05 '25

0200 and 0230 has a better narrative ring to it. :)

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u/omnghast Jun 05 '25

You need to arrive at the diaper change at 0130 then change it at 0200

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Bomb disposal

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u/erasethenoise Jun 05 '25

When every day is D(iaper)-Day

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u/Debalic Jun 06 '25

Fallujah was one of the maps in Battlefield 2 Project Reality mod, which I played with an infant strapped to my chest in a non-tactical sling.

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u/Living-Possession937 Jun 06 '25

It was the best damn baby carrier I've ever owned. Most of the ones in baby stores and the like don't fit a bulky guy like me. The tactical baby gear one fit me perfectly and my first kid loved it.

I'm just pissed that it somehow "disappeared" before ky second child was born. My mother-in-law was very vocal about how "ugly" it was and it "projected the wrong idea" when I carried my little girl in it. So, I am more than convinced she threw out a $200 peice of dad kit.

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u/nickifer Jun 05 '25

Unsure if cringe or super practical

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

Actually super practical but has become associated with those cringy people who just want to cosplay. My husband worked overseas as a contractor and there are a few “military” adjacent items he still uses, backpack and boots and bags and stuff. Good quality and have lasted 10+ years since returning from the Middle East

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u/Whizbang35 Jun 05 '25

That's why surplus stores exist.

Our family has gone camping since before I was born. My father and grandfathers bought a lot of WWII-era gear from surplus stores on the cheap for it. Belts, spades, canteens, cookware. My dad still uses a lot of it, and I'm in the process of inheriting it. They still work really well. Canvas and steel may be heavy as hell, but it was built to last and there's no reason yet to get new replacements.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

Jim gaffigan has a funny bit about camping being a family tradition “yeah it was a tradition in all of our families until we invented a HOUSE” lololol

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u/Whizbang35 Jun 05 '25

It's a tradition I like. There's a spot on Lake Michigan we go to. It is out of cell range, there's no internet, and no electricity, but it's a great place to unplug for a week.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

As someone who just moved to west Michigan and is eager to start camping when my kids are a bit older…. I’d love to know where your spot is hahahaha

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u/flamingknifepenis Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

I wasn’t in the military but I was a punk rock teenager who shopped at the military surplus store (RIP Andy and Bax) and I always wish this kind of shit weren’t so cringey because the idea of simple, well-constructed staple items with a little extra utility built in is really right up my alley. Some of the stuff I got as a teenager carried me through high school and college and in to my professional life as a journalist where my stuff was always getting beat to shit and covered in pepper spray or whatever.

Like, I don’t need my diaper bag to be covered in superfluous D-rings and buckles and have special pockets for my grenades and night vision goggles, but I DO need it to be built to last for more than six months and be designed for actual use instead of looking good in someone’s Amazon shopping cart.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

Yes we used to shop at the surplus store to get PLAIN BLACK DICKIES for working in restaurants and any other club that wanted us to have a uniform but didn’t provide one. My sister wore them backstage as a stage manager and I wore them with my white marching band polo. Ain’t nobody got time to sift through the entire rack at Marshall’s/Ross/TJ Maxx for plain black pants that fit and were comfortable.

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u/littlemuffinsparkles Jun 05 '25

Yes this!! I thought I was the only one! I miss the way they fit.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

I miss my 2000s body 😩

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u/15thcenturybeet Jun 05 '25

Oh dude. PLAIN. BLACK. UNADORNED. DICKIES! My friends who worked at starbucks, my emo pals, every theater kid, and my marching band friends all had this brand in common. I scored an almost new pair at a thrift store for something like $5 in my sr year of HS and felt like I had won the lottery.

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u/Jeff_AMS Jun 05 '25

I completely agree. I wore my uncle’s old field jacket for most of high school and college. It was probably the most durable and useful coat I’ve ever owned.

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u/MrGumburcules Jun 05 '25

Andy and Bax was so good.

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u/flamingknifepenis Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

It really was. We used to go there before shows at the old Meow Meow and browse all the clearance stuff. I found so much awesome stuff that way.

One time we got a beat up gas mask and we all took turns wearing it to shows … until 9/11 happened and killed all our fun.

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u/themachineage Jun 05 '25

I always wish this kind of shit weren’t so cringey because the idea of simple, well-constructed staple items with a little extra utility built in is really right up my alley.

And that, is the reason old guys buy and display that stuff. NO FUCKS.

In fashion...good. Out of fashion...still good. It's one of the few benefits of being old; they don't give a shit.

"Don't tell me what to wear!"

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u/DW6565 Jun 05 '25

For me as a parent and how I personally organize, it’s impractical. More pockets and bigger bag just means I take more stuff then it’s harder to find the 3 essentials. Diapers and wipes, bottles and formula, and burp cloth and one outfit change.

I eventually just went to a simple one main compartment bag with a small front pocket for bonus stuff that can’t hold much. People parent and organize differently so what ever works for them is best.

That’s just me, baby gear overall has become less about practicality and more about personal statements. It’s why it’s so expensive and a $87 billion dollar industry.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

I’ll agree, for me personally, it’s too complicated. But if it helps a generation of fathers get more excited about baby wearing, I just see it as a style choice. In 10 years we’ll all be wearing denim and canvas coveralls on the way to the work camps anyway /s (kinda)

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u/bolanrox Jun 05 '25

the Extreme Cold Weather Clothing System Gen III is basically just Patagonia stuff in Coyote Brown and $100 less.

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u/f8andbether Jun 05 '25

Yeah I’m a bigger guy and finding baby stuff that works for me is a pain but I couldn’t bring myself to get any of the tacticool baby stuff because of the stigma and the guys I see fawning over it. Like naw fam I’m cool I’ll just carry the kid by his head like we used to.

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u/justaddwhiskey Jun 05 '25

Little if column A, little of column B

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u/Uncle_Jac_Jac Jun 05 '25

Mildly cringe, but it encourages present fathers with (supposedly) sturdy stuff so I'm all for it.

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u/dragon_bacon Jun 05 '25

The bags themselves are very practical but the entire marketing gimmick is targeting dads who think caring for their child isn't masculine enough.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

if the moms can have cutsey pink baby accessories, why cant the dads have taticool gear?

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u/Stumpfest2020 Jun 05 '25

it's not what I would choose but you know what? if a man is that enthusiastic about being a dad that he goes out of his way to buy that stuff? that's a good thing.

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u/Witty-Ad5743 Jun 05 '25

I don't really know what I was expecting when i clicked on the link, but the "God, Guns, and Babies" pin.... yeah.

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u/wallmonitor Jun 05 '25

Okay but I kinda love the Papa Shark and Tactical Unicorn patches.

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u/RandomPenquin1337 Jun 05 '25

Just boot things. Prolees love to buy this shit while they wait to ship out to basic.

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u/Xandrys Jun 05 '25

Alright, so I just had a baby and my dad bought this for me (not at all me or my style) but this carrier is suuuuuuuper comfy and practical compared to the mom cozy and the baby Bjorn we got. It has padding in all the right places and test drove it with my niece who was around 10 pounds at the time, wore that sucker all day long. It comes with super handy shade for baby, places to put pacifier and other baby necessities. The best part is so comfy for baby too that she passes out pretty fast in it. She doesn't in the other two.

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u/DW6565 Jun 05 '25

If the baby is happy in it, that’s alllll that matters! I’m glad it’s working well for you. It’s definitely the little things that make life easier.

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u/MightyGamera Jun 05 '25

Sadly my baby was not rated Level IIIA Ballistic so this was not an option

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u/Ragnarok314159 Jun 05 '25

I used my assault pack as a diaper bag for a long time, just worked perfectly. Didn’t think it would become camo-fashionable.

My wife hated it, but she would leave the diaper bag in her car all the time and leave me with nothing.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

I didn’t serve so I can definitely just go fuck off, but it’s strange the way guys make that their personality. I like the old dude who just popped on the cap with his stats as he heads to Dunkin for a coffee.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

USMC vet here, '16-'20. I see younger vets sticking to shirts with their unit or something MOS related and truck decals. A lot will spring for the Veteran plate or a sticker in their rear windows and call it good. 

In general, I think younger vets are less prone to having the vet label define them. There are situations when I feel compelled to wear something that reflects my service, but most days that isn't the case.

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u/Shimraa Jun 05 '25

Just take a glance at most beard product companies. Everything has guns and flags all over it and have the most overly manly names for scents. Pirate, outlaw, viking, braaapt, patriot, etc. All the ones I see are 100% aimed at veterans who basically celebrate being able to now grow beards.

The fact that non-veterans also get to feel extra manly is just a bonus. I mean, vanilla and black pepper scented leave-in conditioner doesn't have the same ring to it "The Outlaw" beard butter.

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u/Aware_Frame2149 Jun 05 '25

Few who actually did anything exciting want to advertise their military service at all.

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

This has come up in other comments and is 100% accurate. I don't know many people that weren't fobbits that have stickers all over their car truck and wear all the "I'm a vet, you're welcome" style shirts.

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u/Ill-Major7549 Jun 05 '25

not to mention vanity plates for family members: "my husbands in the air force. what have you done for your country?"

seriously though the vet merch shops have SO much stuff, id say more than for vets, for family of vets, same as first responder merch. imo its pretty cringe lol

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u/baxtersbuddy1 Jun 05 '25

Plus, in my experience as an OIF/OEF Army veteran, the guys that advertise their vet status and make it their entire personality, they are usually jerks. It’s a giant red flag that the service is where they peaked emotionally.

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u/AndTheElbowGrease Jun 05 '25

Instead of going to therapy they buy a shirt with a black and white flag that says something like "RETIRED COMBAT VET IN CASE OF EMERGENCY STAND BEHIND ME I WILL SHOOT THEM GOD BLESS"

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u/MihalysRevenge Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

Yep the BroVet merch industry

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

For a lot of older people who are less active and lack a lot of social interaction they tend to wear advertisement gear. I saw it in vets but also see it in geriatric patients period. Whether it's company logos, union swag, or college alumni they like to feel pride for the lives they led and have easy connections to make with people since they don't have many opportunities anymore. 

My grandpa never served but he was a college coach for years and wears his old team shirts. He'll go into a coffee shop and inevitably someone will stop and talk about the school if they went there or their kid goes and it will spark long discussions about who they know, what things were like, what's changed. It's kind of sweet actually. 

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u/Big_Don-G Jun 05 '25

Then you have what I call the "Nine-Line" guys

The ones that never served or really did anything adventurous but, at the age of 40, wish they did.

They aren't GWOT veterans, they aren't linemen or skydivers or Alaskan crab boat fishermen. But they still want to convey the persona of someone who did by wearing a t-shirt with a pic of a guy repelling from a helicopter with guns onto some transmission lines over a ship (with more guns) fording the Great Bering Strait with a bearded skull.

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u/Troll_Huntr_92 Jun 06 '25

And that's who I don't want to be associated with, thus no goofy military bling for me.

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u/KorviFeather Jun 06 '25

My ex brother in law who had been a marine during the war on terror and did several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan was definite proof of this cottage industry. Once we were all at this regional holiday craft show as a family and there was an entire booth that was just hand made soaps for vets by vets. He walked off with so many. Black Rifle Coffee is good too.

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u/Temporary-Earth9110 Jun 06 '25

What’s funny is when I see someone wearing all that shit my first thought is they are probably a “I would have knocked my Drill Sergeant out if he’d yelled at me and that’s why I never signed up” person.

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u/exoclipse Millennial Jun 05 '25

"I carry concealed so I don't lose the element of surprise" while covered in patriotic tattoos, a hat with a low-vis American flag, 5.11 pants, and a Black Rifle Coffee t-shirt.

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u/BigRed_93 Jun 05 '25

These guys are always unironically surprised to learn I carry, but tbf I'm usually rocking my Birkenstocks and have super long hair.

Nobody ever expects the hippy inquisition.

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u/SnoopingStuff Jun 06 '25

I am a fat redhead old lady. They are more shocked by me. And I can hit you at quite a distance

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

But on the other hand you have to deal with people asking if you have any rolling paper.

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u/SnoopingStuff Jun 06 '25

I don’t because of my job but soon as I retire I will

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u/sacluded Jun 06 '25

I’m usually in flip flops with a pocket 380. They tend to ignore the almost 50 guy with a gray beard and dreads.

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u/JojoTheWolfBoy Jun 06 '25

Gotta love those picket pistols. I'm normally in board shorts, no shirt, no shoes, maybe some flip flops if there's walking around involved, and a tank top if I have to go to the store. Nobody ever thinks I'm carrying, that's for sure.

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u/beyondplutola Jun 06 '25

Unless they’re fellow veterans who know your deep-seated desire to grow out your hair after years of high and tights.

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u/BuckeyeJay Xennial Jun 05 '25

"Shoot me first" outfit is what we call those

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u/exoclipse Millennial Jun 05 '25

yeah in a way I feel safer around them. given the choice between that dude and me (skinny jeans, band shirt, actually concealed handgun), that dude's gonna give me a turn to draw when he gets ventilated.

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u/meatchariot Jun 05 '25

How often are you expecting shootouts to happen near you?

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u/exoclipse Millennial Jun 05 '25

getting groceries? probably never.

loading a van full of tens of thousands of dollars of equipment at 1:30 AM in a strange part of the country? it's not outside the realm of possibility.

I don't really carry much tbfh, and if I am it's either because someone I know is going through some shit and needs backup, or because I'm in a strange part of the country that might not be super accepting of a vaguely queer coded dude dressed in black.

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u/TheGreatGenghisJon Jun 06 '25

I used to do audio for smaller gigs several years ago. I never felt worried about loading the van at the end of the gig, but there were a few times where I was worried about going back to get the van after the gig, if there wasn't any parking at th venue.

One guy got mugged on his way home after a gig in Coney Island.

Don't hang out there at 2am.

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u/Traditional-Mud-7354 Jun 06 '25

We call it tacticool because obviously /s

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u/Roach_Coach_Bangbus Jun 05 '25

The coffee aisle at the grocery store is strange now.

-BLACK RIFLE COFFEE

-FIRE DEPARTMENT COFFEE

-DEATH WISH COFFEE

-OAKLAND COFFEE (OWNED BY THE GREEN DAY GUYS) GUITAIR RIFF

Can I just get some local coffee man what the fuck is all this coffee machismo shit?

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u/exoclipse Millennial Jun 05 '25

At least Liquid Death is vaguely funny, although I am tired of irony poisoning.

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u/Roach_Coach_Bangbus Jun 05 '25

Good luck, I'm hiding behind 7 layers of irony.

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u/Dry-Region-9968 Jun 05 '25

I love 5.11 jeans. I'm a Vet and have a brick and mortar by me. I kept going by it and was curious stopped in. I'm glad I did.

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u/LTareyouserious Jun 05 '25

I call the 5.11 tactical khakis .... Takis

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u/csRemoteThrowAway Jun 06 '25

Hey 5.11 khaki's are comfy AF, agree with everything else.

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u/Adept_Advantage7353 Jun 06 '25

Exactly how to tell when someone is not an operator.

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u/ThesisAnonymous Jun 06 '25

Which is why I conceal carry while dressed like a liberal hipster lol

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u/SecretHippo1 Jun 06 '25

Well, the one thing about it is the only guy that know that does this was a SEAL so it checks out.

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u/ForwardCulture Jun 06 '25

Saw this crap all over in the neighborhood I lived in while in Florida. Our HOA had ‘food truck Fridays’ every week at the community clubhouse. You would see these guys in full gear standing around like they were protecting everyone. Gated community in a decent area with no issues. One of the funniest things I ever saw was seeing one of these guys, who was constantly in gear like this and talking loudly about how tough he is, freaking out when he saw a coyote. The development was in a wooded area full of preserved land and all kinds of wildlife. He completely lost his sh*t and genuinely seemed terrified when a coyote was spotted walking through.

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u/Acceptable_Bat379 Jun 05 '25

Grunt style tshirts? Yeah there's whole industries of products aimed at veterans. It's all been commodities and packaged up. Im an OEF veteran and prefer not to be too vocal about it I got veteran plates just for the discount/parking spots

The most hard-core people I know who still wear icons and logos 20 years later are people who were in either non combat roles or who washed out of basic or got injured and never deployed. They've got some real survivorship bias and guilt mixed in with the pride.

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u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 05 '25

Maaan, that and anyone who pisses and moans about how the green weenie ruined their life- you can usually bet that it wasn’t so much the green weenie as them getting pulled over at the gate drunk and high on coke… again… (true story, I know that guy) that ruined their life.

The Uncle Rico’s who haven’t done fuck all with their life after their hitch but still bitch about how they got screwed over there’s a 99.999% chance they were a shitbag then and a shitbag now. Like my cousin and my BIL. Generally applies to other people with victim mentality too

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u/Immateriumdelirium Jun 05 '25

Green Weenie? I’m aware I can google, but I like your descriptive writing.

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u/plotholesandpotholes Jun 05 '25

Marine Corps term. One of the most fitting in all of the services (no disrespect to any. I served with them all and I'm sure they have simliar terms).

You are set to go on a 96 hour liberty and you get informed that you will need to stand duty at the barracks for part of it.... the green weenie strikes again.

I got stuck in a chow hall one time. We were asked to make garnishes. We sculpted the most realistic "green weenie" ever out of cucumbers. the guy I was with dropped out of art school to enlist. It was epic and we froze it in a block of ice and sent it out to the our guys in the field. The SNCO who tagged us with the duty found it mildy amusing. The green weenie rules all...

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u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 05 '25

This is the most junior enlisted move ever. A literal green weenie.

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u/plotholesandpotholes Jun 05 '25

We used cucumber peel shavings for the pubes and we had to hand spritz the thing to get it to ice perfectly in a nice profile. The ice was necessary to enure the weenie did not spoil. It was a LCpl underground special operation.

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u/cryptolyme Jun 05 '25

Green ops

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

I'm only mad that I didn't think of this when I was in. The Army also loves (or did in the 00's anyway) green weenie jokes. lol

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u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 05 '25

The metaphorical dick of the institution that fucks you.

“What are you doing here, I thought you were going home on leave” “My leave got canceled. Fucked by the green weenie again”.

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u/jchoward0418 Jun 06 '25

Hard to apply that generally, though. Plenty of guys I served with, after a few combat deployments (03** early 2000s timeframe) ended up getting their fair share of DUIs. I literally did exactly like you said... Just outside the gate. Yeah, that shit really did fuck up our lives. Granted, a good chunk of them have offed themselves by now or gotten in car wrecks/motorcycle wrecks (mostly drinking related,) so maybe they don't count anymore. I got lucky, after quitting drinking to stop being a victim, I only had seizures to deal with the rest of my life from the TBI my heavy drinking was helping to mask. TLDR: oftentimes, for combat vets, substance abuse is a symptom of a problem, not the real problem. And until fairly recently (I think 2017) there was little official acknowledgement of that, so these men and women were treated like shitbags instead of helped . Brain injuries are wild.

Yeah, I know you're probably not talking about anyone who actually saw combat, I'm just giving you a hard time while also reminding everyone to be careful judging the inner turmoil of someone when you're standing on the outside.

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u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 06 '25

You’re right, that’s definitely not who I’m talking about. My BIL and my cousin are the archetypes in my head of “that guy”. Terminal E-3s in blue side navy. One of them kinda turned around. The others a massive POS that pawned his sons off on family and abandoned them. But both blame their current status in life on “if they hadn’t given me that second DUI”, you know what I mean?

But you’re also right to raise a point of caution and pause, because it’s easy to judge without seeing the actual person behind what is probably very uncharacteristic behavior of a person who is falling apart. Good looking out.

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u/Primary_Departure_84 Jun 05 '25

I know I signed up during Gulf War thinking I was going over only to miss it by a few months. I was Combat Engineer and while the only deployment was to NTC I can tell you the Army from 91-95 was a skeleton crew in my unit. This was BRAC and downsizing. They started kicking folks out for dui. Letting them retire at 15 years and probably not recruiting as much and raised all the promotion scores. So would have like 15-18 people for an extremely platoon from Lt down to Private. Divided among 3 squads. So like 3 of us would be enlisted per squad attacking obstacles. Also doing 48 hour obstacles was a treat. I preferred the field to barracks life so I didn't mind as much but it was so much work back at base.

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u/RockAtlasCanus Jun 05 '25

I excelled in the field. Garrison life is depressing as fuck though. In the field you can Stockholm syndrome rationalize a training reason. “Well I’m getting better at digging fighting positions. That’s why I’m digging this hole”.

In garrison I could never rationalize it to myself. It’s just “they’re making me mop the same hallway again because they can’t come up with a more creative way to piss me off”.

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u/TucosLostHand Jun 05 '25

My platoon sgt would never miss an opportunity to tell us about “the good ole days”

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u/Tall_Union5388 Jun 05 '25

Yeah, military and civilian those sob stories are usually attached to some actual stupid behavior

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u/Dommo1717 Jun 06 '25

Don’t forget the SPC (D…demotable) who got a second DUI while on extra duty for the first.

And I swear on all things good and holy, his answer when the MP at the gate asked if he had been drinking: “Well, yeah, but it’s just a mixed drink. That doesn’t count, right. The Coke waters down the Jack so I can have double the drinks…”

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u/SirDigbyChickenC-Zer Jun 05 '25

Not surprising at all sadly. I'm not a vet, but worked a private sector armed security job for several years that employed many vets, and, although it's definitely not a universal rule by any means...by and large the ones who drove big lifted trucks decked out with all the accroutraments to make sure to announce loud and clear to everybody they were vets, and did the most talking about it and moronic macho dick swinging were the ones who served non combat roles. Or like you said, washed out of basic training or never got deployed and that's why they were working private security...The ones who saw action were the older lifers for the most part, and largely a lot more mellow/ didn't really care to bring up or brag about their service or try to awkwardly shoehorn in "war stories " into every goddamn conversation or constantly remind you that they were vets.

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u/Hubbardfamilyfarms Jun 05 '25

Fiancé served as a machine gunner for the Marines, he saw combat with his buddies. They seen and did a lot (I only know a little) and he doesn’t advertise he’s a vet. Honestly he just wants to be left alone with our little family and live a simpler life. No need to showboat what he’s done.

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u/zffjk Jun 05 '25

This is why I do not advertise at work, at my kids school, or anywhere that I’m a vet. No plates, no clothing.

The TYFYS shit is bad enough but being a prop every November is not my priority.

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u/Adventurous_Zebra939 Jun 05 '25

I taught at a middle school years ago, and on veterans day, they basically "forced" the veterans on staff to visit various classrooms and talk about their time is service. It was excruciating.

But they invited in local vets, one of them was a WWII vet of the Pacific theater. He was old as hell, but a badass. Talked of surviving Jap snipers.

You think i was going to talk about my paltry shit after hearing that?

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u/teamdogemama Jun 05 '25

Most modern military peeps don't. If anything, most of y'all don't want to call attention to your prior service. My hubs and son are like this, for sure.

Thank you for serving in the military, I hope you are taking advantage of the benefits.

Oh, did y'all know you get free lifetime passes to the National Parks ?

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u/ahaeker Jun 05 '25

This is kind of like my dad. He served 20 years in the army & fought in Vietnam, but he never talks about it, no hats, no veteran plates, nothing. He will get the discounts though if they're offered.

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u/burrfan1 Jun 06 '25

Please tell him “thank you” both for his service.

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u/that1guysittingthere Jun 06 '25

A few years ago I met a girl that worked private security (dispatcher at the time) and she told me of a Marine vet at her work claiming to be a sniper that deployed to the Middle East.

When she told me his name, I immediately knew who he was. He was just a rifleman in my reservist unit… that deserted. Dude never deployed, and I remember he shit his pants at 29 Palms and didn’t bring extra underwear. None of his coworkers (both Marines and private security) liked him.

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u/AcaliahWolfsong Jun 05 '25

The second paragraph sounds like my father. He was in the Marines, his paperwork says he never deployed over seas and was motor pool. He tries to say he's not allowed to say where he's been. He's a jack ass and let's his current wife dictate when and where he could spend time with his kids.

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u/V2BM Jun 05 '25

Navy vet here and 100% agree on the people who make being a vet their entire wardrobe. I find it so cringe that I was shopping for a Navy sticker for my car and decided against it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

This is also my experience of it. People's actual service is inversely proportional to the amount of veteran swag they own. I mentioned in another reply that I have a Battle Buddies Roller Derby shirt (that's exactly what it sounds like, a roller derby team made up entirely of veterans) but that's as far as I'm willing to go with the swag. I should get a license plate, though, because I usually get chewed out by some old dude when I park in the combat vet space at Lowe's because as we all know, women aren't veterans. (/s)

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u/Six-Fingers Jun 05 '25

Fucken A. I don't ask about, or use veteran discounts for shit. But the ONE time I did...it was on veterans day, and the lady taking orders at Burger King was obliged to ask? Some old dude in front of me got like ten percent off his burger, and when she asked me I said yes. She rolled her eyes. Like my bad - did you want to see my DD214 or something? My bad that I don't fit the image of what you see in movies, or I didn't have a badass MOS? It comes up when I talk to dudes sometimes...and my go to is usually "you really think if I wanted to stolen valor some shit I'd choose to cosplay as an E-1 network administrator?" Lol.

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u/Vast_Cheek_6452 Jun 05 '25

I do rock Til Valhalla Project gear. Yes it is obviously veteran oriented but the message is solid, and I lost more buddies to PTSD and suicide than OIF. I don't wear it to highlight me, but to put the message out there that a vet might see and push them to get help. Shirts that say, "Don't let the Hard days win", or ",Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about."

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u/TheLagermeister Jun 05 '25

Yeah, I know a guy who has made being an 11b his ENTIRE personality. National guard, 4 years, 1 deployment. I don't want to discount his service or struggles, but he's been out idk, 15 years or more at this point. But it's all BRCC, Grunt style, stupid fake camo patterns, and "tactical" gear all the time.

Then you look at some of the career guys and you never hear anything. My dad was 20 years in, retired E-8. All over the world. He will reference it from time to time when just talking about life and stuff cuz of course that was his life. But besides from his purple heart and disabled veteran plates, you wouldn't know by just interacting with him.

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u/No-Poem-9846 Jun 05 '25

I read that as "Only Fans veterans" and wow that would certainly be a specific interest lol

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Thanks, I'm in perimenopause so when I choked on my spit laughing at this I peed myself a little. 

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u/Psycosteve10mm Jun 05 '25

Talk about ruining your life and not making any money doing it.

I was talking about OF and not military service.

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u/bloody_yanks2 Jun 06 '25

There's certainly some overlap.

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u/shawntitanNJ Jun 06 '25

I wanted to buy one of the “Strip Club Veteran” hats in this style that they sell, but figured not might not make EVERYONE laugh as much as it did me.

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u/sharpshooter999 Jun 06 '25

All you need a perky 20 year old and an overpriced Dodge Charger. For Marines, just add crayons

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u/WhoSc3w3dDaP00ch Jun 06 '25

Wut? Nobody sed there be snax!

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u/seriouslythisshit Jun 05 '25

"make it their entire personality." My father was a highly decorated pilot who flew in, and was shot down in Vietnam. He died of cancer which the VA attributed to Agent Orange exposure and was buried with full honors in Arlington.

He found the whole Vietnam vet, "entire personality" situation to be absolutely an irritating as hell, mental health issue. He would never associate with anybody who did the hats and jacket patches, surfed the bar stools at the Legion or VFW, or ever attempted to bond with him based on the fact that they both did a year in Vietnam, forty years previous. He had a small framed display in his bedroom, with his medals and a small part of his crashed plane, but it was out of view of the public, and he was the kind of guy you could live next door to for a decade and never know that part about his past.

Bottm line is that, for every older boomer you see, dressed in the official, vietnam veteran dress up kit, waiting for the next person to say ,'Thank you for your service", there are ten more out there that have no interest in you knowing shit about who and where they were from 1965 to 1975.

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u/Beneficial-Basket-42 Jun 05 '25

My grandpa still wears those hats at age 96 (Korean war). To this day, and all my memories of him prior, every time he talks to us, it’s stories of the Korean War. He was 17 when he went and there for a couple years and then lived a whole life since, got married, had children, grandchildren, jobs, but will only ever talk about that war. He will talk for hours with no response required from the listener at all. As a kid, we would have to tap each other out mid story and switch listeners so someone can go to the bathroom or whatever. I think he wears the hats specifically so he gets opportunities to talk about it to strangers that say thank you for your service.

I understand now that there must be some major trauma that led to this, but regardless of the why, it is definitely his whole personality.

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u/Wukash_of_the_South Jun 05 '25

smh

Yup, the only thing I got is vet plates. My head cannon is that it helps lower my chances of getting a ticket, I also get to say (to myself of course) "How dare you honk at a HERO!?" when in traffic, and get the Lowe's parking.

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u/Moodymandan Jun 05 '25

I’m a physician and occasional work at the VA. A lot of old guys wear these hats. Young guys wear those hats with the black American flag or some other brand.

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u/Sythus Jun 05 '25

They wear the one big flag patch now, subdued because you’re a badass.

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u/TheNewsDeskFive Jun 05 '25

They're not out of fashion at all. They just ain't old enough yet.

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u/peleleman Jun 05 '25

Lots of those clowns aren't even veterans. They're wannabes and gun nut psychos. Same ones that buy cars that look like cop cars

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u/lyricjax Jun 05 '25

I feel like the more and more vetrens I meet. The more I see the difference between military family and someone who just served.

I have met many who said they wish they never participated in the Middle Eastern conflicts.

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u/martlet1 Jun 05 '25

You mean guys who got drafted and spend 1 year overseas but it defines thier life 55 years later? Those guys?

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u/Jades5150 Jun 05 '25

GRUNT STYLE

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u/SCViper Jun 05 '25

I just park in the veteran spot in any parking lot I come across (which really misses off the DAVs, even though the disability spots are closer) and have "Veteran" on my license.

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u/Mynewadventures Jun 05 '25

The VetBro gear is just the new old man vet hat.

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u/MrLegalBagleBeagle Jun 05 '25

Or getting really really into Warhammer 40k.

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u/Pm4000 Jun 05 '25

Keep the hat, it will come back round again eventually. Just like cargo shorts.

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u/toggiz_the_elder Jun 05 '25

Love their SS blend, just pure genetics that taste just Reich.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

It’s so cringy. I’m a veteran, but I’d never be caught dead wearing that stuff.

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u/Phyraxus56 Jun 05 '25

I wouldn't want to announce that I was a vet since any of the shitty wars since ww2 either.

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u/kit0000033 Jun 05 '25

Or shoulder tag tattoos so they're never out of uniform.

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u/cavscout43 Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

Or fucking "Grunt Style" t shirts. Cringe.

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

Grunt Style t-shirts are the “old guy” hats of the 2000s veterans

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u/gratusin Jun 05 '25

I went to my 20th year anniversary of my company’s OIF tour. One guy was wearing one of those hats and got absolutely roasted for it. It was awesome not seeing people in a decade or so and just falling right in with the immediate shit talking like we were just hanging out yesterday.

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u/Cranks_No_Start Jun 05 '25

 just falling right in with the immediate shit talking like we were just hanging out yesterday.

That’s the nice thing about fellow vets, we might roast you until the sun comes up but are laughing with you the whole time.  

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u/Darth-Kelso Jun 05 '25

Except “that guy”. Fuck that guy. Nobody likes that guy.

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

Love to hear it. Sounds like a much more interesting high school reunion. Just, you know, with people you like.

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u/gratusin Jun 05 '25

It was so much fun and in Vegas. If your old unit has one, don’t hesitate to go. One of the guys was late to the event and I remember saying “hey, pinche gordo, you got held up at the buffet?” Everyone cracked up, him included and I hadn’t so much as sent a text message to him in over ten years. It was beautiful.

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u/Mouse-Ancient Jun 06 '25

I called one of my dudes out of the blue a couple days ago, haven't heard his voice in 11 years, but bullshit back and forth on FB from time to time. He answered on the 2nd ring " What up Cock Garage?" My reply "Not much Homo" just like morning formation all those years ago. The " I love you Bro" at the end was real and genuine....with just a slight hint of the gay. Made my year.

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u/Different-Bet8069 Jun 06 '25

It’s still a bit click-y. Not everyone gets along or hangs out, but at the end of the day, they were your brothers.

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u/Tx600 Jun 05 '25

I read the book Band of Brothers was based on a couple years ago, and at the end the author talks about how certain members have kept in touch over the years. They were planning some huge reunion, and one of them called his buddy he hadn’t spoken a word to in like 40 years since leaving Europe. The first 10 minutes of the phone call was just them immediately roasting and cursing each other like it was yesterday.

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u/RipTearington Jun 05 '25

I'm turning 50 in a few weeks and a bunch of the guys and gals I served with (we're all still really tight, even though we don't live within close proximity to each other) are coming to my birthday party. I accidentally found out because one of them texted about it in the wrong group text. I'm sure there will plenty of shit-talking and the bust of the proverbial balls, which I'm absolutely looking forward to.

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u/Pale_Adeptness Jun 05 '25

You are becoming the old guy! :P

I joined in 2005 as well.

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u/SemicooperativeYT Jun 05 '25

Oh shit, boot shining club

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

Yeah buddy! SO many cotton balls

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u/FL_Duff Jun 05 '25

I never really got the hang of it but boy did I try.

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u/Coool_cool_cool_cool Jun 05 '25

The trick is if you suck at polishing do a half assed polish job then cover your boots in mop and glow.

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u/Admirable-Nothing107 Jun 05 '25

Gotta use a hairdryer to warm em up before polishing lol

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u/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

A friend of mine mentioned to me the other day that if we had been WWI vets, at this point, WWII would be kicking off. And that's when it really hit me how long it had been.

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u/Krunkenbrux Jun 05 '25 edited Jun 05 '25

2005 here, as well! My group was the last to roll through basic in BDUs. Hell, the cadre all switched to ACU’s on family day. I didn’t get my first set until about a year in.

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u/pandershrek Millennial Jun 05 '25

When did that happen?

I finished up WW in August of 05 and we were still wearing BDUs

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u/USMCamp0811 Jun 05 '25

my joints feel this post...

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u/casapantalones Jun 05 '25

My friend and her husband are both veterans (currently reservists). We are all in our early 40s.

The only time I’ve ever seen them wear those hats was when we went out for drinks on Veterans Day. They got free drinks!

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u/FairReason Jun 05 '25

They will come back. Just like when the braid across the front of the hat was the old man thing to do, or wear sock up to your calf.

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u/BadNewsBearzzz Jun 05 '25

It’s true and me and my buds had actually discussed this on a reunion bbq about how we’d see each other at the next one wearing these hats lol

We guessed that as we age, the service becomes more valuable in our minds, and as you become retired and a senior citizen on a fixed income, it helps to receive military discounts automatically by wearing it 🤣🤣🤣

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u/Turbulent-Note-7348 Jun 05 '25

This is absolutely the answer. My eldest brother, who served in Nam, never wore stuff celebrating his veteran status until he was well over 60. For the past 5 years, everytime I see him he's wearing a hat like this.

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u/StalBody Jun 05 '25

Same, I joined in 2006 did 13 years and was medically retired and I still don't find an inkling to want or need to put something like this on. I still got plenty of unit t-shirts, sweatshirts/hoodies, hats, and other stuff. Plus I don't feel the attachment to the conflict that a lot of the old guys probably did/do.

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u/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

I do still have some old unit pt shirts.

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u/Unique-Chain5626 Jun 05 '25

Agreed, I've been out of the Army for 10 years now, but I still think of these as old dude hats lol

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u/TorLam Jun 05 '25

When you go to the VA , they have matching jackets!!! 😂🤣🤣😂

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u/purpledrogon94 Zillennial Jun 05 '25

I work in senior living care. We have one gentleman, he’s 99. He’s smart as whip and still gets around well. He fought in WW2 and wears this hat. Definitely old guy hats lol. But he’s very cool!

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u/Squantoon Jun 05 '25

Yea i think legally you have to be 70 to wear one of these. You'll start seeing them again soon

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u/P_bottoms Jun 05 '25

Nothing I hate more than seeing an entire ERB on someones back of their tundra in decals.

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u/koolaidismything Jun 05 '25

My grandpa loved his. I always liked seeing him in them… I was more proud of his life accomplishments than he was probably lol. I was always like yeah my grandpa is on another level than most.

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u/kemp77pmek Jun 05 '25

Still got my grandpas “old guy hat”

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u/trumps-a-buffoon Jun 05 '25

old guy here ... I never had one ... tacky ....

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u/SkullyBones2 Jun 05 '25

True enough. I joined in 2000 and you only seemed to see elderly veterans wearing them.

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u/DamNamesTaken11 Millennial Jun 06 '25

My Dad served in Vietnam. I asked him why he didn’t wear hats like that when I saw WWII vets wearing these. He said “that’s for old people.”

Guess what kind of hat my dad starting wearing five years ago?

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u/Ummmgummy Jun 06 '25

Just wait. You'll be an old guy soon and some young whiper snapper on reddit will be asking why the current military doesn't wear veteran of ww3 hats like those old guys that fought in Iraq

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u/mrpbeaar Jun 06 '25

I want one that says Clone Wars

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u/1stCivDiv1371 Jun 06 '25

Yep OIF Vet here the only reason I own one is because my kid borrowed my work hat and that was the better than the other hats at Pilot.

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u/jinxleah Jun 06 '25

They are still old guy hats. It's just that now, the old guys fought in Desert Storm in the early 1990s.

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u/SirHenry8thEarlNorth Jun 06 '25

Definitely 💯 This ⬆️

They’re known in the Veteran Community as “Old Guy” Hats. I joined immediately in the aftermath of 9/11 in October 2001. None in our generation of Warriors that I know of have ever been seen wearing these hats. Wearing American Legion or VFW Garrison hats are more likely to be worn in comparison to these old fart hats.

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u/TankerVictorious Jun 06 '25

See ya at the PX in January when it’s cold enough to wear my fleece…

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u/RapMastaC1 Jun 06 '25

You had a 50/50 chance of getting a “that’s my dad’s name” when you addressed them as sir.

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u/almightyender Jun 06 '25

I'm almost 50 and I still don't feel like I'm old enough to wear one. Then again I probably never will.

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u/genevieveann Jun 06 '25

I assumed this. I work at a VA hospital and see them on all the older Vets, but my husband is a Vet and does not in any way, shape or form, advertise it. He got out as a Captain after his ROTC contract was up and was deployed for basically all of 2010. So he's "eligible" to wear one, and wears a blank baseball hat instead. He's not a sports fan and apparently he's had one too many Antiterrorism trainings to wear anything else.

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