No, it was for you. Every veteran took the oath and wrote the infamous blank check to Uncle Sam. Does it matter what your branch or MOS is when that indirect fire hits in Afghanistan? Most of the people on the road currently in theater are not even Infantry. The IED’s don’t discriminate. Even whatever the most uncool jobs are needed and they all pay the price when a ship goes down or an island is over run. Hold your head high veteran, you represent the best our nation has to offer. Those that understand it’s not about you, it’s about serving your Nation.
That is funny. I think Civy’s mostly see “war fighters” on the news and think everyone is either a pilot, sniper or a SEAL/SF. Hell, when I was at Quantico, the Marines in my class asked me if I was ever in the Military. I said yes, Navy. Later on, they asked me if I was a SEAL. I asked them why they had assumed that? They said because I could shoot. I laughed and informed them that I was a lowly intel weenie. I think they almost passed out in shock and disgust (as I was the high rifle shooter for the class).
So yes, lets thank the truck drivers, cooks, admin and supply folks for all that they do because without them, nothing else would work.
C4
So yes, lets thank the truck drivers, cooks, admin and supply folks for all that they do because without them, nothing else would work.
Some of us were happy to just lube the war machine!
I hear ya. But there are a lot of honest ones out there.
I showed a house to a couple a month or so back. Guy had mentioned he was going for a VA loan so I knew he was in or had been in the service. Kind of skinny. Had his entire leg in a brace and an arm all jacked up in a cast. Also had some obvious trauma that was mostly healed on his head. He had been injured while overseers but I didn’t ask details. When I asked what he did in the service he did indeed tell me he was a cook. I have no idea how a cook gets those kinds of injuries but I have to respect the man.
Guy had injuries like that and could have made up just about any story he wanted. But no. He was a cook. And proud of what he was able to contribute while in the service.
In my experience, the people who say they are cooks (and they always say they are cooks) were definitely…not…cooks…
I feel you Euro,
I have people I’ve worked with for years that don’t even know I was a Marine in a former life. It’s not that I’m not proud to have served, but there are millions who’ve served in the last 50 years and I’m not special in the grand scheme of things. My DD-214 shows an Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal and Combat Action Ribbon (Operation Praying Mantis, April 18th 1988), but what I went through doesn’t amount to shit compared to what many have. I work with the Honored American Veterans Afield and the Oklahoma Honor Flight group. I like to thank the vets we serve and hear their stories. For some of them, it’s important to know that someone will listen and understand. I can usually spot the one’s that are BS’ing and it makes mee feel bad for them, that they feel the need to embellish their record. How pathetic must their lives be to do that? 
I hear you man. The only thing I have representing anything is a veteran plate, simply because I did deploy and I was outside the “wire”. No one can see the future or predict what will happen. Our tour was quite uneventful. My MOS was arty but we were tasked with doing convoy ops. The convoy was hit by one IED and one TCN driver was killed. I feel bad for saying it, but better him than any of us. We avoided a few others, lucky enough to be stuck behind a convoy in front of us waiting for EOD to detonate it. Like you, I am not naïve enough to wish that we were ambushed daily or saw gore and death to qualify our service. If people ask me what I did, I tell them exactly what I did.
I absolutely despise loudmouths, but they exist everywhere. I’m currently a full time LEA and we have guys at work who claim they’ve done things on the job that are flat out lies. Some of those guys may even be members on this forum, and the sad part about it is, people online will believe them but at work, we know what they say is utter bullshit.
were you TFMP in Iraq?
Ditto, I hate the “thanks for your service” line. I’m in healthcare. I do the same thing civies do, just in a crummy tactical Smurf suit. My one deploy,and was essentially a family practice clinic on a big base. I was so bad ass they sent me over with only a pistol (sarcasm intended).
God bless the ones that truly sacrifice and persevere. If you see him again, buy a round for all of us.
This is why I never joined the VFW. There are way too many frauds who tell bullshit stories to suit me.
If you want to visit some real heroes, visit Arlington National Cemetery or the USS Arizona memorial.
I had a guy working for me several years ago that was real quiet but was my best guy on the team. He never volunteered any info and I did not press him on it. After getting to know him he told me he was in the army and had multiple deployments. When I asked him why he got out he told me that he was sick of ducking bullets and seeing his friends get messed up. He was in school and was a kick ass worker and is now a good friend that I wish lived closer
S.M.
Yes I was.