Can We Please Discuss the Phrase "Thank you for your service"?

TL;DR

"I'm not sure I can imagine American liberals doing the same. But perhaps...? "

Good lord you're an idiotic troll

Yeah, it's grating performative nonsense. Kamala's recent "sacred ground" comment about Trump's Arlington visit made me roll my eyes as well. Fetishizing the military never turns out well for a society.

Pretty piss poor R1. What happened to Be best!?

R3 didn’t get his Diet Coke and fries for breakfast this morning,

I find that phrase to be very useful whenever I meet someone from the porn industry.

I was always so proud of my father for NEVER mentioning his substantial contribution. It was confusing at first to me but later in lifeI realized it was beautiful in its own way.

Most active duty/veterans hate that phrase WITH A FUCKING PASSION. I was deployed to Iraq twice. I just want to cringe and punch whoever says it. If, as a nation, you're really grateful I could give you a list of 100 things you could do for veterans and active duty Disrupt the Kubki? Just don't say it or react to it.

Kabuki, R8.

Kabuki-like as in taking a thumps-up photo on top of someone’s grave?

Or speaking in a black accent in Georgia?

R3 every cemetery is sacred ground to someone. And I know, that you know, that Arlington has a particular place in history, although you choose to mock it for a cheap wisecrack.

OP, I'm a proud liberal and I do say "Thank you for your service." My father, still a teenager, served as a medic in the Pacific during WWII. I was proud of him for that and, while there are many problems with our military and its members and administrators, it is necessary and I respect the people who choose to join. So, fuck off.

That said, I am growing weary of the formulaic statement--it seems to me akin to the "I'm sorry for your loss." They have become so ubiquitous that they have lost individual meaning. But I also know people mean well when they say it.

R11 you are late! I would have thought that you’d be here right after R3. You can do better than that, can’t you?

R14 is no way tarred.

My ex-partner was a 3rd generation Naval Academy Grad and O-6 after 30 years in. He would say it constantly to others who had served but never mentioned his own service. I felt that was very respectful but I have to wonder if he didn't mention his because of his high rank.

He had a lot of empathy for the enlisted and what they went through - low pay, grueling hours, being moved around a lot. As an officer, he obviously had some challenges, but it's not the same as enlisted.

Personally, I've always seen the enlisted military as what it is - a jobs program for the poor. 90% of the jobs are NOT on the front lines - it's administrative and support staff. Yes, there are still challenges, but let's stop thinking everyone put their life on the line - they did not.

It's gone over the top since 9/11 - and it needs to be re-adjusted. Also - with the HCOL nowadays, military pay isn't THAT BAD when you have your housing and medical all paid for.

[quote] O-6

What does this mean? I don’t know military lingo.

Less than 1% of the American population serves in the military. I doff my cap to them, many of them have risked their lives in wars (Vietnam, Iraq) that are unnecessary. After 9/11, Bush told us to about our business...go shopping...act as if the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq don't affect our day to day lives. "Thank you for your service" is an anodyne response to make Americans feel better.

We as citizens need to be more actively engaged in knowledge of the wars fought in our names...especially military actions that involve the use of drones. And we need to push Congress to pressure the president to be more answerable to the American public and not let directives or acts bring us to war.

We fetishize the men who fought in WWII and America's involvement in that was has been used ever since victory in 1945 to legitimize subsequent wars...most of which were unnecessary. That needs to stop.

O Captain, my captain.

Nurse may have just wanted to keep her job. You never know which old veteran is going to flip out on you for not saying it.

I sort of see your point, OP.

I think veterans should be thanked and shown appreciation. It does seem like it's gone a bit over the top, though. I think some of that might be that a lot of the Vietnam vets were ignored for years after their return, so people are compensating for that now.

But sometimes it goes really in the OTHER direction.

Walt Whitman was a real loser, a sucker for sacred ground and service to his country. A total queer!

What is your point, OP? People shouldn’t thank veterans for having been in the military? Veterans shouldn’t have an opinion about how the military is being run now?

I find it a bit grating too, to be quite frank, but what are you suggesting be done about it?

I can feel your anger. It gives you focus, makes you stronger.

I grew up in a rural area. Many of the men joined the military out of high school.. Every single one of them now gets money medical and recognition for being disabled. Looking. At this in retrospect the individuals that joined in almost every case were borderline dysfunctional people before they joined up.. The military experience they had in almost all cases caused them to return home as fully entitled dysfunctional men. While the rest of us who stayed home had to go to college acquire heroic debts, work and pay taxes these vets just hang around and decide which coffee shop or restaurant they're going to go to today. They show absolutely no sign of possessing humility or irony in the situation and think they deserve their lives as idlers. As the rest of us had to learn skills and get jobs, get up every morning and go to work they just don't believe any of that applies to them... I don't thank them for their service but fume internally at the situation.

O-6 is just an alpha numeric designation for rank regarding pay. It represents your pay grade and not your rank though it's usually the same. That way it can be used cross service. The O standing for officer. An O-6, if memory serves, is a Colonel in the Army. An E-1 would be a Private. E for enlisted.

R17 - it's your rank. Officer 6th rank is a very senior officer. The only officers higher in the structure are types of admirals, of which there are very few.

Enlisted have their ranking system and officers have theirs - it's usually completely separate although sometimes an enlisted can move over to officer levels but they have to resign their current ranking, usually get a degree, attend officer training, etc.

It's very upstairs/downstairs. There are the officers clubs, officer housing, etc. It's literally a class system and it feels icky looking at it from the outside. Particularly the Navy, which has always attracted the elite and wealthier class into its ranks historically - similar to British Navy.

Pay rank for USN captain

They get veterans’ discounts at many places. That should be sufficient thanks.

So it begins: the campaign to discredit the military & vets.

Tulsi G was doing Trump’s dirty work of projection on CNN today with Dana. You see, Harris should be embarrassed for daring to criticize Trump’s heroic efforts to show grace and respect to the families that invited him. She didn’t even bother to show up on the historic anniversary (she said that phrase three times).

[quote] What is your point, OP? People shouldn’t thank veterans for having been in the military? Veterans shouldn’t have an opinion about how the military is being run now?

My point is that it seems to have gotten out of hand. I'll echo the sentiment above that there seems to be a sense of entitlement to these veterans now. R13, I still respect those that volunteer to serve, I'm sorry for my long-windedness that may have caused a misunderstanding, but I can also think some are gaming the system and I should be able to express my opinion on their behavior.

I have worked with some ex-USAF people who cry about the wastefulness of government largesse with one breath, and then talk nostalgically of how great it was when Trump was Commander in Chief because everyone on his Forward Air Missions would stay in 4-star hotels and resorts. The hypocrisy is maddening.

I would disagree that accumulating college debt is heroic, R25 has a point that those of us who don't serve still make a contribution to this country. I would never paint veterans with as broad a brush to say that all of them are living off the government teat, but I do know there is an underground gouge that servicemembers know exactly what symptoms to claim to help them increase their disability payouts upon discharge. Numb hand? Extra 5%. Erectile dysfunction? Another 5% plus free Viagra for life.

I agree mostly with R16. And if military service IS a job's program for the poor, then I think it's best to at least acknowledge the generational difference between the poor of the early 20th century and that of the 21st. I guess it shouldn't be surprising to see the sense of entitlement, grifting tendencies, and fragile masculinity creeping in.

R30 - no, it's an objection to the glorification of military and vets which has gone overboard. Nobody is discrediting their service but I'm not clear why they get to board planes first when

a) 99% of the time they are not going to war or to any place where they are going to be in danger b) taxpayers already paid for their plane tickets

We spend so much fucking money on the military for NOTHING. Do you know how much money and time it takes to keep a prepared military? How much it costs to maintain military vehicles, airplanes, helicopters, boats (of all types), guns (of all types), rockets, etc? The majority of which are NEVER used?

We spend billions to send people out on sea cruises on destroyers and aircraft carriers to conduct exercises - that's 99% of what they do. 'Play' military games.

We could cut 25% of that and nobody would see the difference - but it's military contractors and others with a vested interest to keep these stupid, pointless military operations and spending in motion.

I’ve worked with vets; they hate that phrase.

They are a different breed - like cops. I find resources for them; they are best served by people that have been through it.

How has it gone overboard? His is it out of hand?

Do you sit in hotel lobbies, train stations or air terminals waiting for a veteran to walk by and re off the conversations?

record, not re off

Op, too long.

Hiss is it.

Hiss is it.

R33 here - and let me add - people get tired of playing 'games' and want to see REAL action for their own ego and because that's what they've been prepared for.

Personally, I feel like a LOT of the bullshit you see in the police force today are ex-military who never had a chance to do what they were trained to do and they're doing it on civilians instead of war combatants.

Don't get me started on all of the military perks - housing allowance, food allowance, clothing allowance, military-owned vacation hotels in Hawaii, Japan, Florida with huge discounts, etc.

It's fucking out of control from a cost perspective. They need to cut our military spending drastically and have plans to ramp up if and when a war is needed.

We have TOO MANY nuclear warheads, rockets, warships, planes, bases - it goes on and on and on. And too many military admin and staff to support it.

When Putin and Xi come a rockin’, don’t bother knockin’

R39 ‘s message to the world!

R13, my father was a medic in WWII in France. I didn’t understand what he did until after he had died, although I knew he’d been on the front lines. He rarely talked about it. He was a tense and short-tempered, but brilliant man and I suspect the experience damaged him. But he did what he was asked.

Compared to that, thanking a kid who works in HR or recruiting for his or her service does seem a little performative, but I don’t begrudge service people receiving thanks because we have an all volunteer force and there are no guarantees that the cushy job the recruiter promises is where someone will end up (which is sort of what happened to my dad, but he would never have complained, it’s just a fact).

I have a young relative in the military and when he was still fairly early in his training he was required to wear his uniform off base. He and his friends would go into town on their off weekends and sometimes get their dinners comped. Which they liked. But they didn’t like it when the more senior enlisted witnessed it and at least once they were mocked with “thank you for your service” from their colleagues. Once I asked him if he thought he could get upgraded if he wore his uniform on commercial flights and his response was that it wasn’t worth it, it would be too embarrassing.

I find R25’s anecdote hard to swallow. First off, all the branches of service have standards for enlistment. They aren’t high, but they try to screen out completely dysfunctional misfits. Second, the experience of serving, should instill some discipline and good habits. It seems unlikely they would emerge from the experience as worse people than they would have been otherwise. And, FFS, most of them acquire more skills than the typical college student.

I was a combat medic. When I wasn't deployed I worked in a TMC. The stories......

While in the VA Hospital seeing my Dad get tended to, one of his doctors said that the military is the single largest line item in the federal budget at $1.2T. The second? The VA budget at $400M. That's $1.6T, and I would say that it is well worth it.... War Games and all.

In the end I think we all need to accept the American Military Complex is the tip of the spear defending most of the free world. But as BPC said, Americans need to keep themselves better informed and make better educated decisions/votes when it comes to the use and deployment of our military might. Just like enlisted members need to be better educated about just what type of government and way of life they are signing up to protect.

Seven years of service is not significant???

$400 billion for the VA, I think

$900 billion for Defense

$100 billion for intelligence

R43 - bullshit. It's diplomacy and economic trade/incentives that keep the peace, along with multi-national alliances. And there are many wars going on today - where are we?

We only selectively go into conflicts when it's in our best interest. Otherwise, we just tsk..tsk...isn't it awful?

Rwanda, Serbia, Ukraine - the list goes on and on of conflicts and wars that we never really cared about or did anything except to give some money or some weapons.

So that $1.2 trillion is all in for all of the above.

$1.2T vs. nuclear war —I can live with that …

R30 By Trump. Would you really think that would ever bother him?

R49, if you are American you are the nuclear threat. We are the country that has used the bomb. All others are wannabes.

Arlington isn’t a Cemetery to him, it’s the set of the New Improved Apprentice

R51 posting from a bunker in Idaho. Keep watch this night, with a contemplative eye, for black helicopters.

I was standing at a deli counter with an older guy and a guy younger than me, and the old guy had one of those hats on that says you were in Korea or in another war. After a conversation we had with this older guy, the younger guy says to him, "And by the way, thank you for your service." I didn't say anything.

I really hate saying to veterans, "Thank you for your service." It just seems like an insincere phrase that's more like a fad. I don't ever remember people using it, up until a decade or so ago. My own dad served in WWII, but so did most friends' dads I grew up with -- that, or Korea (or both). It wasn't some rarity. It wasn't something you thanked anyone for. The thanks, if anything, was assumed. I still don't like it, I don't know why.

Part of the meaningless Thought & Prayers mentality. Most Karens would turn the hose on a homeless vet they found sleeping in their rhododendrons. Bougie smug self rightousness faux patriots.

R7 What were your father's contributions? You can brag on him here.

People who do that are just showing off. And they think it makes them look like such wonderful people.

I'm like Larry in this clip.

R54/r58 wins the thread. Nailed it!

It's annoying. It implies that the veteran did something for the person thanking them. I enlisted in the Army. I did it for me. That my parents were proud of me was a bonus. Home Depot offers a discount, yep I'll take it. I make too much to have VA benefits. I cannot stand to hear 'veterans' whine about their status as an excuse when they are in a courtroom setting or embellish their 'service.'

You voting for Kamala and whatz hiz name?

OP = bloody stool

I would be in favor of two years of mandatory civil service. After high school choose a branch of the military, or work with the homeless, peace core, eldercare, environmental issues...

Peace Corps

r64, you beat me to it... I saw that just as I posted.

There should be a draft. If every family has blood in the game there would be a lot less war and game playing. Both sexes.

… And no religious deferrals!

and the Hitlerstan checks in.

It’s even spread to the UK. We call these people flag shaggers.

Fuck off r68… get back to sucking Bibi’s tata.

This thanks is what veterans get instead of adequate medical and mental health resources, or any economic assistance. It is so sad to see these old fellows dressed up in hats and t-shirts denoting what branch or which conflict they served in, hoping someone acknowledges them or buys their breakfast. I think veterans retirement villages would be more patriotic than these Old Glory bikinis & board shorts.

Hey Maj. Sean Higgins, you seem like a great guy. Thanks for your service!

[quote]Kamala's recent "sacred ground" comment about Trump's Arlington visit made me roll my eyes as well.

Have you ever been to Arlington? It's a cemetery of thousands of service men and women that either served in combat or died dating back to the Civil War (there are some exceptions). I don't know how you describe the feeling, but it's like a weight that settles on you. I was there to bury my half-brother that served in combat and retired as a colonel. Maybe try and take a trip there before you roll your eyes again.

When I was at the VA hospital, my eyes were opened wide, seeing all the different patients there. People of all ages and the variety of their injuries.

There were the obvious ones: old men like my father in hospital beds, amputees in wheelchairs being pushed from one appointment to another. But there were also people that were just walking around the outside trails of the complex, gathering together at various tables and benches. Turns out these veterans were being treated for mental health issues and given shelter there as opposed to be on the streets.

They wore hats and shirts that declared the wars, branches, and battalions in which they served. They spoke their own language to ask each other questions about their service or injuries, lingo used to call back meaningful events and stories in their personal histories.

Eyes opened, I began to see a more complete accounting of the cost of war: not just the $1.6T spent, but the lives affected and just how so. Then imagine the destruction waged on the other side of the world where these campaigns occurred.

I definitely believe there is a reason for war and military actions. I’m not calling for an end to the DoD Military Complex. But I believe it would be a good start in being better informed about the use of our military if more citizens got to see what I did, and feel the particular ominous weight I did.

P.S. Also, having visited Arlington a few times, I would relate that the aura there is much like my VA hospital experience. Except ten times more powerful. And silent.

Quiet R74. You're starting to sound like Tulsi. Old DL hates her.

R74 - the true cost of war is never fully calculated. Imagine your son or daughter or parent being killed - either as a soldier or as a civilian. Trauma and pain for the rest of your life. Then look at that for all the lives lost in the Middle East.

You can't blame some of the younger family victims of these deaths to turn their anger into rage and want violence/revenge.

Then all of the injuries - mental and physical - which is 10x usually the death count. Plus all of the completely bombed out housing, infrastructure, hospitals, etc.

Seeing those young vets coming back with limbs missing, facial deformities, and lifetime struggles is horrible. For what? Then the Republicans want to limit their benefits - over and over and over - while gaslighting and saying they support the military and veterans.

Nobody is good at war. There's always an extreme cost and whatever perceived peace it creates still creates trauma and divide decades later.

I've worked around vet types. The gratitude, hosannas and ceremonies are never enough. They are bottomless pits of needy narcissism.

They push the veterans down out throats on our right wing TV stations, always showing how brave they were in battle, I want to ask them, did you go to war for my faggot ass too? I bet I know the answer I get tired of hearing about people who hate me.

To think what a huge deal homo-hunting was in the military. For some reason I don't think it's much different: it just went underground.

For this reason they don't get any respect from me.