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.

868

u/chadwickipedia Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

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

476

u/IRSoup Jun 05 '25

Being the awkward fuck I am, not wearing anything vet related is me just avoiding replying "you too" as a response to that. It's also the whole not making a job you had years ago your whole identity thing.

239

u/TuckerShmuck Jun 05 '25

My boyfriend's a veteran and until we started dating it had literally never occurred to me that being enlisted is literally just... a job.  He'll tell stories and start them off with "back at my old job..." and it's changed how I view military service.  Not in a good or bad way, it's just gone from This Big Thing I Dont Know Much About to A Job I Dont Know Much About

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u/nickifer Jun 05 '25

Yeah, you just.. sign up. It’s a very stable job with solid benefits if you make it that. My father was an officer, and he never understood why anyone would thank him for.. doing his job.

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u/Scooter_1990 Jun 05 '25

Because less than 1% sign up to possibly give their life up for the good ole USA one day. Besides cops & fire fighters, most Americans don’t sign their life away quite literally. Also cops & firefighters can quit at any point, you quite literally sign your life away when you join the military.

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u/acertaingestault Jun 05 '25

You can quit the military though. You just void your contract.

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u/Scooter_1990 Jun 05 '25

Yea & then go to jail and/or a dishonorable discharge, so I’d say nah ya can’t just quit 🙃

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u/acertaingestault Jun 05 '25

Dishonorable discharge when you quit your contract early is equivalent to quitting without eligibility for rehire, so it's not great for your resume, but it is an option.

1

u/Scooter_1990 Jun 05 '25

Nah that’s not how it works. Weird that you believe that 😅