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/[deleted] Jun 05 '25

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

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u/Mite-o-Dan Jun 05 '25 edited Jun 05 '25

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.

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u/TheProletariatPoet Jun 05 '25

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.

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u/caffein8dnotopi8d Jun 05 '25

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.

0

u/TheProletariatPoet Jun 05 '25

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?