Interesting article on Veterans growing feeling of Entitlement

[Platapus]

I am a 20 year military retiree and a lot of what this person wrote makes sense to me.

http://inmilitary.com/veterans-brand...20LT%20-%20AMU

The article is long but here are the portions that I thought were especially interesting

Veterans’ Attitudes Shifting from Gratitude to Entitlement

But at some point over the last many years, we as veterans were not satisfied in knowing that we are respected and admired. We wanted more.
Too often, we exhibit behavior that brands us an “entitled” group. We expect more than a “thanks for your service.” We want parades, we want applause and we want free meals.


We want discounts everywhere for everything, even for things that are not at all related to our service or our profession. We want every civilian to give up their first-class seats and give them to us, regardless of who we actually are, what we do or even where we are going. Do not even think about charging us for things that our employer will reimburse us for if it is work-related, like admissions to conferences/events or baggage fees.
We are veterans. Appreciate us. You do not understand us. Just offer a token of your gratitude and move on.




We have collectively gained a reputation for being so demonstrative about what the other 99% should be doing as a way to pay homage to our service, we lost sight of the fact of what made veterans’ service so special in the first place. We stepped forward and volunteered when others would not. We took the risks that others could not even fathom and came back, quietly ready to answer the call when it came again.


But this selfish service instead of selfless service is not the most confusing part of this perception and branding issue. What is more striking to me – what is really a bigger failure of the modern-day veteran – is that we parade our hubris like a badge of honor.


We do this in plain view of the previous generation of veterans who also served, who walked the walk in previous conflicts, yet who now live their lives as quiet, unassuming members of society. These equally accomplished veterans have never received a fraction of the support we experience. Yet they never seem to feel the need to complain about it, at least not on the level that veterans today do through every social media and news outlet available.

My Encounter with a WWII Vet Shows the Difference in Veterans’ Attitude toward Service

Not too long ago, I was returning home after a family trip to Florida. While I waited for a connection, I saw an Army soldier in uniform with a patch from a support installation. While traveling in the Army Combat Uniform (ACU) was still authorized, I found out that this soldier was not traveling to a combat zone or even to a field training exercise. He was on official business, going to attend business meetings at his destination.
I rarely travel in uniform so this service member probably did not realize there were other veterans (such as me) watching him. I observed this soldier receive many thanks for his service; I even saw a well-dressed civilian offer to pick up the tab for the cost of his meal at the counter of an airport food stop.


Of course he accepted this generous proposition, which in itself isn’t a bad thing. But it did make me question this soldier’s true motivation for wearing the uniform (there was a recent article on the website medium.com posted by the Doctrine Man Facebook page about another veteran observing a situation similar to what I observed that day).




Shortly thereafter, I spotted an elderly man – probably in his upper 80s or even 90s – surrounded by friends or family, wearing a hat stating he was a veteran of World War II. Never passing an opportunity to say thanks to those that served before me, I went over to say hello and thanks. I also learned a little more about this veteran’s story.


If memory serves, he was visiting family in Orlando. His daughter and grandchildren were with him. One of them recently bought the hat for this aging veteran to wear. I was told that he never wore anything that remarked on his military service before, only really wearing it now because of who bought it, more so than what it said.


We talked about his time fighting in the European theater and how scared he was as a teenager fighting such an important conflict for the future of his nation. When it was over, I offered a token of thanks for the visit and started to walk towards my next gate. His daughter stopped me briefly before I walked too far away.


She quietly shared that he had the hat for only a short time, but that no one has ever said anything to him, even to say thanks for his service. She thanked my family and me for not just saying thank you, but for taking time to visit.


Am I really to believe that I am the only modern-day veteran that has ever crossed paths with this fellow soldier? Doubtful. But what do these anecdotes tell us about ourselves and how we are perceived, when we want so much without any explanation but are not even willing to express thanks to those that have come before us?

The rest of the article is also interesting. But I wanted to get the opinions of other former military. How do you feel about this feeling of entitlement?


To me there is a world of difference between someone wanting to thank me for my service and someone who feels pressured/obligated to thank me. Do today's vets have a sense of entitlement when it comes to civil recognition of their service?


I think that some do and that number is larger than I would like it to be.



How about you foreigners? Do you think that vets in your country are starting to have similar feelings of entitlement?

[August]

Saw this on a bumper sticker the other day:



This is referencing how the WW2 and Korean war vets denigrated and shunned returning Nam vets in their hour of need and how the Nam vets are determined not to treat the returning Iraq and Afghanistan vets the same callous way.

Back in my day (post vietnam era) if we wore our uniform off base we were liable to be spit on or worse. If wearing it now gets a serving soldier a free drink or a meal or some other consideration then I say more power to them.

[Wolferz]

Any nation that forgets its warriors will itself be forgotten

[fireftr18]

I understand exactly what he's talking about. I don't recall seeing this behavior, but don't doubt it exists. I think there is a backlash from how veterans were treated after Vietnam. People are making a point to make sure that the veterans know they are appreciated. From a fire dept. point of view, we sometimes enjoy receiving gifts (usually food) or discounts. When I was new, I was specifically told to not ask for a discount, nor wear our uniform off duty to get a discount. I stuck to that rule since. To break the rule is considered a serious violation against other firefighters.

[em2nought]

Hell, I'm not even sure I can get health care anymore. Paid for BCBS for decades, found I could get VA, then Obamacare came along, found if I have Obamacare I have to drop VA. Hard to guess which one may turn out worse so it's VA for now. I'll probably just go to Thailand, I trust them more than I trust American medicine now.

[Eichhörnchen]

From a British perspective (for now, at least, a 'foreigner') we don't have the complex issue of Vietnam added to this. But nowadays, when each and every serviceman or woman serving in a Middle Eastern warzone is automatically awarded the epithet of "hero" by the press, I do kind of feel for the people who were called up and thrown into past conflicts, having basically been civilians all their lives.

If you join the service voluntarily as a job, then you join knowing what might lay ahead; it still takes a lot of courage for sure, which I don't have, but don't the conscripted 'vets' of the past deserve a special kind of respect?

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by Platapus

How about you foreigners? Do you think that vets in your country are starting to have similar feelings of entitlement?

I've never noticed if it has but I certainly wouldn't object should that in fact be the case.