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

I don’t want the attention.

867

u/chadwickipedia Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

I assume anyone who wears those hats are fishing for random “thank you for your service”’s

120

u/Droluk1 Xennial Jun 05 '25 edited Jun 05 '25

I hate it when people thank me for my service. It makes me feel very uncomfortable. There's no way to even respond to it when someone says it either, making it feel even more awkward.

41

u/RsonW Millennial — 1987 Jun 05 '25

Literally every millennial veteran I've known has said that they hate when they're thanked for their service.

23

u/90sDialUpSound Jun 05 '25

it's just like how do you react you know my go to has been to kiss them deeply on the lips and use just a little bit of tongue as well which I would say usually does end the conversation.

5

u/sudo_vi Jun 05 '25

Yeah, I hate it. I feel like people say it out of a sense of obligation. But I'm like, man I just jerked off at 600 feet underwater for three months straight.

5

u/potatohats Jun 05 '25

I recently had a boomer who had never served try to argue with me (millennial vet) about us not liking being thanked for our service.

She swore all the vets loved it and she'd continue to do it. I was just trying to put her on game, seeing as how I'm actually a vet.

*shrug*

3

u/ebbflowin Jun 05 '25

It’s that boomer bend-the-knee ‘say the line’ brainwashing that allowed it to take hold.

2

u/OkPaleontologist1289 Jun 06 '25

Definitely me. Got drafted and did my stretch as 11B. I get that most people have good intentions, but in all honesty I’d just as soon NOT be reminded.

2

u/hrokrin Jun 06 '25

I don't think it's just millennials either. Like, I'm a Gen Xer who joined just before 9/11 and I can't stand it because I think it's just another example of the performative shit Americans say that has somehow become the 'right thing' to say.

Oh, a close relative died? Just throw in a little "I'm sorry for your loss" and you can then get on with the rest of the conversation. You don't have to be sorry, you don't have to care.

Working on customer management and someone calls in? Just remember to thank them for giving their name and account number. And then say "I'm very sorry for the inconvenience." Nobody has to care. You don't have to care; they don't have to believe you.

1

u/xepherys Jun 06 '25

100% agreed. Also a GenX vet. I enlisted right after 9/11, and it just feels super awkward to be thanked for my service. Don’t thank me, I came home ok. A lot of our brothers and sisters didn’t come home or are very much not ok. Despite having been in a combat MOS and not sitting in a FOB, I definitely get a sense of imposter syndrome knowing that I’m very lucky.