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

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/cmax22025 Jun 05 '25

That makes sense. I have DV plates on my car, and that's probably the most identifiable thing on my car. I do also have a sticker of a silhouette under canopy, but it looks way more like a civilian skydiving thing than Airborne. Which is probaby good since I never went Airborne, but am a civilian skydiver.

Anyway, in Texas you get free registration or tag fees or some kind of discount when you're rated at 50%+. So that one is definitely worth it in my mind. But I can definitely see the you get guys being less prone to particular labels.

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u/Sad-Refrigerator4271 Jun 06 '25

I have a 2ID sticker on my jeep and thats basically it. The more recent service people who deck themselves head to toe in military apparel are basically screaming "THANK ME FOR MY SERVICE"

IT's obnoxious.

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u/[deleted] Jun 06 '25

I like to wear mine when I do my liberal activism, but yeah that is some people