Army Veterans. What is your feeling about countries that do not hold high regards for their military veterans?

18 comments

1. I’m not an Army vet, but I am a military vet (Marine Corps).

   I don’t care. I don’t really even care when Americans don’t hold us in high regards. I barely hold myself with any regard tbh

2. I’d imagine it all depends on the country and their individual situation. In countries where military service is mandatory, it’s not really anything special because everybody’s done it, just a check in the box and you move on with your life.

   For some countries, the military is the one that oppresses or harms its own people, whether the country is governed by a military dictatorship or the civilian president uses the armed forces as his personal attack dog against dissent. In those countries, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if people have a low opinion for, even hatred of service members, considering the very ones supposed to protect them are the ones hurting them.

   All depends on the country.

   At the end of the day, I’m glad I served and I’m proud of it, but nobody owes me anything. I made the decision to join, it was my choice, and the civilian population isn’t beholden to me somehow for doing something nobody forced me to do. Love us, hate us, that’s your prerogative.

3. Don’t really think about it at all.

4. FYI, “Army” is a specific branch of the military. Our MILITARY consists of the Army, Navy (and Marine Corps), Air Force (and Space Force), and the Coast Guard.

   No, I don’t think anyone takes Space Force seriously.

5. Air Force vet here. Presumably you meant army in the context of military.

   Many countries have a different relationship with their military members and that’s okay. I acknowledge that my service(2011-2014) was not in defense of freedom from foreign invaders and what-have-you, despite what some people tell me when they find out I was military. That being said, we have engaged in the interest of freedom and protection elsewhere within the last 50 years. We’ve also engaged in the nation’s (read: politicians and corporations) interests as well.

   In Western Europe particularly, significant threats against the countries as a whole are far removed from living memory. Someone who did their service in France, the UK, Spain, etc at the same time as me would’ve been equally as important to defense of their nation as me. That is to say, not particularly. The difference is that, within living memory, conscripted servicemembers in the US received verbal and physical abuse upon return from Vietnam. Culturally we’ve decided to swing the pendulum the other way. Arguably too far in some ways. And other western nations didn’t have a pendulum swing far enough to go the other direction.

   Personally I’ve always viewed the warrior and the war as separate issues, and that is often not the case in some people’s mind.

6. Current Army here but will be a vet next year.

   I don’t particularly care, honestly.

   Just being a soldier doesn’t mean you deserve any higher form of respect. I think it’s ridiculous to think some kid passing spicy summer camp and a rudimentary “advanced” course makes them a hero.

   I think countries who treat the military just like any other profession are more honest. I’m not trying to have my pickle and jewels jangled by every passerby when I’m in uniform.

7. [deleted]

8. My father was a 2 tour Vietnam War Veteran and they spit on him a lot, in particular when he was carrying the national colors in a parade.

   I am a 3 tour combat vet from Iraq and Afghanistan. People are grateful and say thank you for your service.

   The only difference between us is there was a mandatory draft during Vietnam. Civilians were scared of getting drafted and hurt so they were against the military and the war.

   Presently, we are in an all-volunteer military so civilians don’t have to worry about their own welfare. They do not protest as vehemently as a result.

   I do think there is a bit of national shame over how Vietnam Veterans were treated in general. And there is a backlash pushing general cultural in the opposite direction.

9. Air Force vet. Anyways. I think if you signed that line and if you dedicated yourself to your nation…you should be held in some regard. You did something most others do not and military service is not a walk in the park.

10. Submarine Service (Navy) rather than Army, but the only feelings I have towards anyone over their regards for veterans is annoyance with the “thank you for your service” types.

11. Considering our government has only started holding us in high regards? I don’t care. It’s a job, some of us do it and others don’t. That being said, if your gonna send people off to die for bullshit reasons the least you can do is take care of then when the cone back.

12. Navy vet.

    In my opinion the United States can overemphasize the importance of its military members, and this can result in not only an insincere mentality towards the military, but bigger egos from the military themselves.

    Here’s an example: Several gung-ho Americans (and ironically many who never served) are freaking out about Pride Month and the representation it gets every June 1st, and then whine about “wHy DoN’t ThE mEn AnD wOmEn WhO sAcRiFiCeD fOr OuR cOuNtRy GeT a MoNtH???? tHeY oNlY gET tWo DaYs!!!!” (Memorial & Veterans Day) yet if they actually cared about the service members they would realize that May, the month that just ended, is Military Appreciation Month. Military members and veterans are commonly used and mentioned as political devices by people that do not actually care about the struggles they go through. People will claim to love the military and then back a politician that plans to cut veteran benefits. The over-glorification of the military has led to many Americans sympathizing with what the military appears to be for them (camo, guns, American flags, war films, tobacco, “I could have/almost served but….”) without actually taking time to focus on the real lifestyle (PTSD, service-related disabilities, long deployments away from home, constant moving, difficulty transitioning out).

    On the flip side this over-glorification can get into the heads of some of the service members too, and this can result in people with bigger egos to let the attention go to their heads and to make their entire personalities just being in the military. These people will display or talk about their military status constantly. Their military rank is displayed on their car, what branch they were in, how long they served, they wear shirts and hats with this information when they leave their house, which is also decorated from head to toe in military merch and memorabilia. Exaggerations about the importance of their roles in the military are common. For them, people have to know this information without asking. Why, you ask? Because of the respect that comes with simply being a veteran. Often from the gung-ho American types I mentioned earlier as well. Because of the abundance of discounts on food and goods in this country. Because of the “Thank you for your service”. Because of the free meals at restaurants or beers at a sporting event people will pay for unsolicited. Because of the attention.

    This is not to say everything is terrible or wrong. There are many people who genuinely care about veterans and their struggles. There are many veterans who do not make the military their personality even when no longer in the military. In fact I’d like to think that is most people. There is a lot of support for the military that is not egregious or misguided as well.

    But the loud minority leads me to perceive other countries’ less “rah-rah” attitude towards the military as a good thing in general.

13. AD military here. I don’t want to be paraded and I don’t want to be used as a political or social pawn. I do, however; want to be compensated. The U.S. government uses and abuses its service members to meet certain mission objectives, many come back broken from visible and invisible scars; the government needs to pay for that and be transparent in its process.

    Further, if the government is going to assign me in a high cost of living zone, I expect the allowances to keep me out of poverty level housing.

14. Being in the military isn’t special for a lot of countries because it’s mandatory for some countries.

    People that volunteer to serve are a lot better than people that have to go by law.

15. Maybe not relevant here since I’m not a vet or active duty but both my parents are navy vets and my brother is active duty navy so I’ve grown uo around it. To me, it doesn’t make sense why a country doesn’t. I get why it likely does since a lot of countries have mandatory conscription but I think that, regardless of what you think of the politics surrounding it, the people willing to put their lives on the line for their nation deserve respect, except in extremely rare circumstances.

16. I don’t care and I also think the USA veteran worship is a tad much, and usually forced and awkward and people say “thank you for your service” as a kneejerk response when they hear I’m a vet

17. Veterans for us are people who fought in the world wars. Growing few in number. They are certainly respected.

    Reservists who voluntarily enlist for peacekeeping missions are not considered “veterans” in the same sense.

    Conscription is broadly popular but the stances vary. It is certainly not very glorious, it is just a coming of age thing for most young men. The previous generation may have considered avoiding it to be somewhat dishonorable, but these days most people don’t care.
    Nobody is deployed, guys in conscription are basically spending a year in a combination summer camp, scouts and adult day care before returning home.

    Reservists are just ordinary people. If you are an “active reservist” participating in clubs and guilds and guns and whatnot, that is mainly just a hobby.

    The military is just another career, whether you are an NCO or officer. You wrangle the conscripts or work in an office.

18. That’s their prerogative. Doesn’t bother me if they don’t value their military. It may not be much to value anyway.