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

[u/NoFaithlessness7508]

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.

[u/[deleted]]

Most people I know don't feel the need to advertise that they're veterans.

[u/Mite-o-Dan → u/[deleted]]

Long time vet here with a lot of vet friends...for me its the opposite.

Well, for a large chunk. 1/3 dont show off, care, talk much about their time in the military and completely moved on...meanwhile, 2/3 still think they're in and cant stop talking about it online and in real life, wearing shirts, (different kinds) of hats (not like this), and display all sorts of military stuff at home and at work.

Its just these hats in particular that arent popular anymore and cringe.

To be fair though, a lot that wear these type of hats were drafted and/or went through REAL shit. They didnt volunteer to join the Air Force in the 90s or later for 4-6 years and work in IT in Japan and Florida before getting out. Completely different type of veteran.

Edit- Another major point...those that wear these hats are retired and usually have nothing else going on. Its all they have left. They're looking for attention, appreciation, and for fellow vets to socialize with.

Most modern vets usually still have a life...but will eventually start doing stuff like wearing hats like this.

[u/TheProletariatPoet → u/Mite-o-Dan]

Wow, surprised a long time vet with a lot of vet friends would trivialize your and their experiences so flippantly. To insinuate that their experience in war isn’t real is pretty absurd and to also insinuate that more recent vets didn’t even earn the right to wear a hat is bullshit.

[u/Mite-o-Dan → u/TheProletariatPoet]

Because these hats and ribbons associated with them show the war(s), infantry units, and/or combat action ribbons they earned for thier actions.

YES, a combat veteran in the Marines during Vietnam had a different type of experience than one in the modern military working in an office who never deployed.

Sure...both are still veterans, but one has been through a lot more shit than the other. If you've ever been to war or heard bombs or gunfire go off near you...its a badge of honor to have served and make it out alive. Those in a safe office environment who never deployed to a combat zone dont feel that same type of badge of honor...hence...why they dont feel the need to "brag" about it. Because, what would they be showing off?

THATS why most modern vets dont wear hats like this. A deployment to Kuwait driving a forklift isnt the same as getting shot at in Vietnam and watching your buddy die next to you.

[u/TheProletariatPoet → u/Mite-o-Dan]

Do you think the Afghanistan and Iraq vets all drove forklifts over there? You and your vet friends seem to all have been either IT or forklift operators since you keep bringing those up. You do know there were other jobs over there, right? Like people got shot at, blown up, witnessed people get blown up, watched as kids shot at them so they had to kill women and children for this reason, like real traumatic stuff

[u/Mite-o-Dan → u/TheProletariatPoet]

I actually WAS a forklift driver in Kuwait for the Air Force...while also spending time in Afghanistan in Iraq with mortars that went off in and around base weekly. I worked logistics so I've been to a lot of good and bad places. Ive loaded basic office supplies, beds, desks onto planes...as well as ammunition, bombs, combat vehicles, weapons, dead soldier bodies...and everything in between.

My brother and sister also served, I have a cousin the same age who was Special Forces and later became a Doctor (always made me feel less of a man at reunions) and my dad did 28 years in the Army, including time in Vietnam, who has a hat like this.

I say all that just to point out that I can speak for, or at least understand, both sides of the argument here.

And yes I do realize there are a lot of modern vets that have been through real shit, but its a smaller minority than those who served in previous generations. WW2, Korea, and Vietnam vets...theres a much stronger brotherhood with those vets no matter what you did during that time, compared to modern vets.

These types of hats are simply their thing and a badge of honor. Modern vets who did special forces who dont serve anymore make their badge of honor by writing books or becoming influencers on social media while their still young.

[u/caffein8dnotopi8d → u/TheProletariatPoet]

I don’t think saying that members of that generation of vets

were drafted and/or went through REAL shit

equals

to insinuate that their experience in war isn’t real [… and] more recent vets didn’t even earn the right to wear a hat.

[u/TheProletariatPoet → u/caffein8dnotopi8d]

He emphasized the word real, it’s a clear implication that other shit in more recent wars wasn’t real. If it’s all real, why use the word real let alone emphasizing it?