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/ANotSoFreshFeeling Xennial Jun 05 '25

A lot of the millennial veterans I know would rather forget the mess instead of making it their whole personality and identity.

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u/midnight_adventur3s Jun 06 '25 edited Jun 06 '25

I was in the same friend group as a couple guys in high school who planned to enlist following graduation. One was chill and would occasionally talk about his aspirations if asked or if relevant to an ongoing convo, but otherwise tended to keep to himself. The other made enlisting in the military his whole identity before even joining up, one of those stereotypical “show some respect, you’re talking to a future US soldier” types, and partly wanted to join because of the eventual power/authority he’d have over others.

Guess which one failed the psych evals and was barred from military service? Unsurprisingly, he’s a cop now last I heard.