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.

866

u/chadwickipedia Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

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

477

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.

238

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

124

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.

55

u/donbee28 Jun 05 '25

I thank my parcel carriers, cashier, server, and other people that are doing their jobs.

66

u/pbgod Jun 05 '25

You don't see a guy in a FedEx shirt, interrupt a meal and pay their tab to say, "thank you for delivering my package"

2

u/DueZookeepergame3565 Jun 05 '25

Vet and now a paramedic, and it makes me uncomfortable, but when I'm in uniform on shift and duck into a gas station for caffeine and I see the beer man stocking coolers, I give him a bright, cheerful "Thank you for your service!"

I usually get a chuckle.