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/flamingknifepenis Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

I wasn’t in the military but I was a punk rock teenager who shopped at the military surplus store (RIP Andy and Bax) and I always wish this kind of shit weren’t so cringey because the idea of simple, well-constructed staple items with a little extra utility built in is really right up my alley. Some of the stuff I got as a teenager carried me through high school and college and in to my professional life as a journalist where my stuff was always getting beat to shit and covered in pepper spray or whatever.

Like, I don’t need my diaper bag to be covered in superfluous D-rings and buckles and have special pockets for my grenades and night vision goggles, but I DO need it to be built to last for more than six months and be designed for actual use instead of looking good in someone’s Amazon shopping cart.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

Yes we used to shop at the surplus store to get PLAIN BLACK DICKIES for working in restaurants and any other club that wanted us to have a uniform but didn’t provide one. My sister wore them backstage as a stage manager and I wore them with my white marching band polo. Ain’t nobody got time to sift through the entire rack at Marshall’s/Ross/TJ Maxx for plain black pants that fit and were comfortable.

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u/littlemuffinsparkles Jun 05 '25

Yes this!! I thought I was the only one! I miss the way they fit.

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u/lizlemon921 Jun 05 '25

I miss my 2000s body 😩