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It's a weird thing to do. The lionization of the military is unhealthy for a democracy.

Thank a teacher, doctor, scientist or firefighter instead.

I've always thought it was more for the person doing the thanking wanting everyone around know they're more patriotic than everyone else

34 here, I absolutely hate being told thank you for my service and generally don't reveal I was in the military if I can avoid it. I have no interest in being associated with the crowd of morons happy to send other people's kids to war and then refuses to take care of them when they come back.

Hell I’m 50 and I hate that shit. It’s the most pandering, “thought and prayers” bs since “thoughts and prayers”

So do plenty of us older ones. I worked in a hospital state side, I wasn't G.I. Joe.

Im not a younger veteran, but I've learned not to tell anyone that I am. I don't want people to thank me for stuff Im ashamed of from 20 years ago.

It's always been weird, it's a job, do you tell the Starbucks employee that serves our country and helps keep the American economy going "thank you for your service"? It would make sense if we didn't have a volunteer military but we do so it's the same as thanking anyone for the job they do if they see you in your work uniform

I feel uncomfortable when people thank me for my service and I wasn't even in the military. I was a civilian working for the Air Force and it's on my resume so I'm always thanked at interviews. It's always so shallow, like a greeting.

"Hi! How's your day? Thank you for your service!"

"No I didn't fight. I was a civilian doing engineering work in support."

I feel uncomfortable knowing americans do this.

I always responded with, Thank you for paying your taxes.

It’s extremely uncomfortable. I got thanked on base while I was in PT gear buying alcohol.

I was at a doctor's office and an old guy was wearing a cap for his naval boat and someone else had to go over and shake his hand and thank him for his service. You're at a doctor's office! Don't fucking shake people's hands!

Or we could treat them like people and not revere a shitty job they had in their early 20s. Idk that’s what my veteran friends seem to prefer

I'm not in the military but I've always felt this way the case. It's so empty and meaningless.

It seems like it's more for the people saying it. "I did something nice today to make me feel good about myself. I thanked a person for doing something they signed up for under their own free will. "

I learned this volunteering at the VFW. When you get involved with vet culture, you can tell pretty quickly if the person wants that kind of attention. I also learned that the only real way to thank them is to listen to their stories so we can abandon the need for the military.

Young? Literally every person I served with said it was weird over a decade ago.

I got thanked once because I was wearing a tshirt from an air force base gift shop.

USAA announced it would introduce a new campaign ahead of this year’s Veterans Day that encourages Americans to “Go Beyond Thanks” to honor military members.

Oh thats hilarious, ' vets feel uncomfortable when thanked? Well you better learn to suck them off better! '

I went to a film festival a few years ago and one of the films was about the director's father, a Vietnam veteran. The father was there at the screening and gave a talk after the movie was over. One of the things he said was how much he hated hearing "thank you for your service", mainly because he thought the war had been pointless and no service to the US had been provided, and in any event he had been drafted and never saw combat. During the Q&A a fellow Vietnam vet stood up and asked him a question, and the first thing the film's subject said in reply was "thank you for your service".

I never served on active duty, but I did a few years of ROTC in college, before I had to drop out for medical reasons, and we would wear the uniforms. The rank insignias are completely different but most people can't tell the difference. I would get thanked for my "service" every now and then and have no idea how to respond. But beyond that, even if I was an active service member, I think it would be awkward. Many of those guys, especially enlisted folks, are doing it for personal gain. Recruiters push the fact that you can get training to develop lifelong skills that you can use outside the military. You get a big signing bonus, and pretty good pay. It's a great option for anyone who slacked off in high school and have no idea what to do with their lives. Then people randomly thank you as if you're doing something noble. Of course that would make you feel awkward, even guilty sometimes, like you're taking advantage of something you shouldn't be, like you're a fraud because you know the kind of person this people think you should be and you know you're not that person.

Most people serve for their initial contract of 4 years and then leave. You get your GI bill at that point and can attend college for free. With the cost of secondary education these days, it is a very good path to take to overcome the bullshit price hikes of the last few decades that have disadvantaged our younger generations. Some people who take that path are quietly angry at the world for forcing them down it, for forcing them to compromise their moral integrity (in some cases) and serve in the military, and delay the real start to their adult life for 4 years, just to catch up to the level of their more privileged peers whose parents can pay for their college expenses for them.

It's also awkward when people thank you on Memorial Day, which is specifically a day to honor the dead. Thanking an active or retired serviceman kinda feels like stolen valor. Veterans Day is for honoring the living. This is forgivable though because most people are simply unaware of the distinction.

Older veterans do too. We all think it's weird.

I rarely say it, most vets I've met, regardless of age, don't seem to really like being told that.

Thank you for stealing oil and perpetuating out global hegemony - ftfy

Then there's all the boots wearing full fatigues plus hat buying a rotisserie chicken at the grocery store.

Though I live near a base so I guess that just comes with the territory. And most of the time they ain't vets yet from what I can tell with my civvie ass having eyes.