I'm not military, and this probably shouldn't bother me, but it always annoys the crap out of me when some guy under the age of, I dunno, 65 struts around in his military gear and makes sure everyone knows he's military. Even worse when said person is under 30. I know a lot of guys who served, and seems like very few even want to talk about it other than with their buddies unless they are telling hilarious boot camp stories.
I always wonder if that sometimes goes over poorly with other service people and veterans: cashing in on the honor and reverence for military service and sacrifice... kind of cheaply.
I guess I just know too many military guys that I knew saw some rough stuff that never want to say a word about it. I had a great uncle that was in North Africa in WW2. He wouldn't speak of it, even if you begged him, and he'd talk about anything. And I know there are a lot more like him.
One of my wife's good friends married a Ranger. The only way you would know he's military is his haircut and the bullet holes he has. He never speaks about his time fighting. The most I've got out of him is that it's not that scary jumping out of planes at night and the A-10 warthog is cool as hell.
Yes. With the very narrow and general exceptions being: 1. You faithfully served and were honorably separated, as nothing else matters without this, and 2. You’re rocking anything earned in combat-related activities, or 3. Anything signifying you were wounded / were a POW / a distinguished legit hero-level ribbon and/or medal, or 4. You’re making fun of yourself, someone else and which involves how miraculously lucky and/or stupid you were, bonus points if it involved something involving a woman, or 5. You’re 60+ years of age, or 6. You’re telling stories for kids, or to those whom you are very, very good friends with (and who you know will not take you too seriously, or harp in it, once told) 7. You’re speaking up / out to help others who served, to ensure they receive what they’ve well-earned or to keep some damned fool from getting the next generation needlessly maimed, hurt and killed - or even for those whom they are being sent to fight. Any of these, have at it. Go crazy. If #1 & 2, you can do whatever in the [uck fay] you want, whenever you want, however frequently you want. Flip a cop a bird and tell him to get bent? Perfect. Attempted bank robbery? Harmless shenanigans. Pay no taxes? Of course not, they shouldn’t have required it of you, anyway. First to dance with any bride? It’s your world. The rest makes me, and the many vets who I know, cringe and wince. My $.02
No, but they really like it when people do, as it shows them that you support our special forces troops. If your the type of guy who supports our troops - and I think you are - you should buy and wear them everywhere. To show support.
I think - off the top of my head - that there are less than 3k living Seals today, all told. Via Don Shipley (mentioned earlier) there’s exactly two (2) in all of Texas, and only one (1) in Georgia.
Every soldier I’ve ever known loves three (3) things: 1. The A-10 Warthog 2. The Apache helicopter 3. Watching the US Navy win all of the battles and wars, and getting all of the women, while they all sit around like dipshits.