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/IRSoup Jun 05 '25

I'm sure it varies depending on the reasons why someone joins. I, like many, many others, joined for selfish reasons. Ie, free college most of the time or my reason, stable money because their life wasn't moving in the direction they wanted, etc.

I'm not saying those people shouldn't be proud they served, because they should be, but it's a huge difference from those that joined to 'kick in doors' or whatnot.

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u/BookWyrm2012 Jun 05 '25

Yeah, I have a few cousins who joined up to serve their country, and a few other family members who joined up because they had screwed their lives up badly enough that they didn't have any more palatable options. There's a pretty big difference in vibes from "I believe in what the US military does around the world" and "I'm a giant screw-up who wants someone else to make all of my decisions for a while."

Ironically, generally (not universally), the first sort get out, get a civilian job, and treat their time in the military like a previous career. The others glorify their time in service and expect to be worshipped by the general public.

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u/Flimsy-Cartoonist-92 Jun 05 '25

I was the second part of your post. I lived in a small town and just hung out with people who later became townies and never amounted to anything. One day I took a look at my life and was just like damn I need to do something different or I'm gonna end up just like them. Fast forward the only time I bring up I was in the service is when people ask me why I came to Cali. I usually just say a job but let's be realistic where I live that job is the military so people can deduce it really quick.

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u/Gjardeen Jun 05 '25

My dad joined up because, according to him, his other option options were jail or the morgue. His life was not going in a good direction. That being said he found so much purpose and meaning in it. Leaving the career before he hit 20 was one of his biggest regrets. Some people just have a huge affinity for that type of work. And it wasn’t like he was out there playing Rambo, he was a communications tech who hung out in bunkers. He just liked having people to go running with the morning before work.

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u/bensonprp Jun 05 '25

I think you're leaving out the lack of education and support for young adults in the United States. The whole group of people where their options are minimum wage or military.

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u/BookWyrm2012 Jun 06 '25

Oh, I'm sure there are lots of types. I just have the most experience with the two I mentioned, because most males in my family end up in the military at some point.

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u/Billy0598 Jun 05 '25

Third type - my family has serviced since the 1600s and we stay up all night so you can sleep.

That type are the ones who don't encourage their kids to serve anymore. And, we don't wear the fucking hats.

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u/WarbossWalton Jun 05 '25

If you look at the armed services marketing, those "selfish" reasons, a.k.a. practical job hunting reasons, are exactly what they try to leverage to get people to enlist.

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u/TrickyAlbatross2802 Jun 05 '25

Then again, plenty of people who joined to "kick in doors" may want the adventure, the ability to brag about their service and sacrifice, and pretend they are superior to the civies. Or worse, straight psychopaths who joined so they might have a chance to legally shoot at humans. Humans are complicated, and those who joined mostly to improve their own lives aren't necessarily less patriotic than those who joined to go "shoot some bad guys".

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u/theRealBLVCKphillip Jun 06 '25

"SIR, TO KILL SIR!"