That's an interesting point. When returning from a military conference I dressed in civilian clothes. At the front of the plane were two uniformed E-4 Soldiers in ACUs. In the back sat myself, a General and a Major in civies. The flight attendant made it a point to thank the two E-4s for their service and for "fighting for our country" over the PA system. The passengers dutifully clapped. But these two Soldiers had no combat patches or badges indicating that they've fought. It's not a dig on them at all. Imagine how these two kids felt, having not yet deployed overseas, to be given praise and applauded. That's the divide.
I don't want people to kiss the asses of the military. I'd vastly prefer that they had some skin in the game, so to speak. Short of this I'd be happy if our nation had a better grasp of world events and how its military intersects with those events. I have an expectation that after 13 years of conflict that civilians would learn about their military, it's size and basic structure.
I bought this
book for my kid. It's to give my kid an idea of where I go and what I do. If I don't, who will?
As a slick-sleeve Reservist, I gotta say - I absolutely hate dealing with the "thank yous" and whatnot. Don't get me wrong, I respect the kind words and am absolutely ecstatic citizens (or Vets - as at least half of them seem to be) even give a moment of their time to praise members of our military.
That said, I haven't done jack shit, and I am in zero rush to go do anything overseas; my beliefs and political leanings would sooner see me out of the service than in any current conflict zone - but I did sign up to defend and would gladly do so, and wouldn't ever desert regardless. Receiving "thanks" for what I haven't done, and don't care to do, kind of irks me. I usually just take it to mean "thanks for volunteering and serving" - that's usually what it's all about.
Some citizens recognize that we volunteers are the only thing that prevents any drafts from calling up more bodies. If we volunteer and take the shit, they don't have to worry about being voluntold by Uncle Sam.
Generally, I go out of my way to not call attention to my military affiliation. I'm not one to desire basking in the spotlight, so maybe that's why, but generally I just want to be my citizen self - I don't care to be defined by the part-time effort.
Well those days are over. You've gotta fly in your ASU or nothin' now, unless you're on your way to or from theater. IMO it's always the slick sleeve guard & reserve guys who do this, and if you question them about it they say, "Well the uniform and boots are just so bulky to pack to so I wear them to fly!" 🙄
Well if they are going to or from certain schools or training, sometimes they are told to arrive in uniform... or whatever.
I've never flown in uniform, and frankly, I've always tried to avoid it.
😛
I saw the changes come down, and I gotta say, it's about time (regarding uniform and travel). While it's neat and all to wear combat fatigues, I find it thoroughly disappointing that we wear them so much.
Yeah, dress uniforms kind of suck, having to deal with looking sharp and respectful, when compared to a uniform that you don't ever iron and just throw all over the place. As a military standing down, we should start to return to our "professional military" appearance and attitude.
Frankly, the ASU should be worn more often, at least in the "Class B" fashion.
The new tattoo policy is going to be hell. It's well past time the face, neck, and hand tattoo waivers get the boot - but the arm and leg guidelines are kind of comical.
