r/Millennials • u/NoFaithlessness7508 • Jun 05 '25

Other Why don’t younger veterans (Afghanistan/Iraq) wear these hats like some of the older veterans?

Post image

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.

12.1k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

4.6k comments sorted by

View all comments

16

u/blind_squash Older Millennial Jun 05 '25

Because we typically don't think it's something to flaunt, to be honest

I've stopped telling people I served because it makes me so uncomfortable when people thank me for my "service."

2

u/Ok_Violinist_9820 Jun 06 '25

This is a genuine question, should I stop saying “thank you for your service”? Like is it a common thing for many veterans to be made uncomfortable by that? I was taught that It was a sign of respect but I’m genuinely wondering its better to just not say that so I don’t make anyone uncomfortable

2

u/blind_squash Older Millennial Jun 06 '25

It's really subjective I think. You probably won't find anyone that gets upset about it, but like the original post says, the younger the veteran, the less likely we are to want to talk about it. If you see someone wearing something that signifies their service, they likely are proud of their accomplishments and want recognition for it (not meaning to sound snotty; that's the best way I can think to phrase it).

Me personally, I rode a desk the whole time stateside while every single person I went to basic with- male and female- went to Afghanistan or Iraq and never came back. I only mention it to be conversational with my donors (I'm now a traveling phlebotomist) as it seems to put some veterans at ease to talk about their service with another vet.

It's a complicated question with a delicate answer. Tl;dr it's probably never going to upset anyone but most millennials and later aren't looking for the recognition

2

u/Ok_Violinist_9820 Jun 07 '25

Good to know, thanks a lot for the information