Responding to "Thank You For Your Service" in the Military

[@CRE8FORCE]

How do you respond to "Thank you for your Service"?

[@collectiblesunlimited9497]

I totally agree. It is very awkward. And for a lot you had to do some things that you werent proud of which is one part that will make it hard to respond to the thank you, because as soon as its said you basically just start thinking of all the horible things you saw or did and you just feel guilt or ashamed and you really dont know how to respond. I was caught not long after i got out at a bad time when i was struggling with nightmares, sleep deprevation, and just heavy drinking and my response wasnt very good.

[@marksanbourne3064]

Sorry about your post service times. Many don’t get it. I grew up around WW2 and Korean conflict vets. They didn’t care about talking bcz of the trauma. My uncle unloaded on me once… “what do you think it was like … you see your buddies get run over by a tank a dozen times after they get shot”. He was in the Ardennes forest in the winter of 44/45. A medic no less. I served in a quiet time from 78-85. I certainly became aware by being around sailors who were in Vietnam. Many were ex marines bcz any further frontline combat would be too much. Also included a Coastguardman who wound up on a fastboat along coastal Vietnam. Scary shit. I can only imagine what Iraq and Afghan vets go thru. Just the collateral damage is enough to humble the best of soldiers. Geezus, the frontline soldier has probably been thru the grinder of inhumanity. ‘Thanks for anything’ is a pathetic attempt to make up for trauma. No apologies necessary for your tough times. Just support and love that you can get through another day. You are alive. I’ve heard wilderness experience helps. I have some for other reasons but a few vets I’ve run into have said it was a positive move. Always at peace walking long distances just to realize how small I am in this big world.

[@marksanbourne3064]

I’ve come to a point after realizing that several other veteran friends and acquaintances have said to me that it is a basically a way to step away from having a further discussion about their experiences. It’s a disingenuous statement that allows the person to just walk away guilt free. It wasn’t said when I was younger to vets of WW2/Korean conflict. It was way too stimulating and traumatic to say as much. Vietnam vets were shit on for the most part. I know bcz I went to college with many of them. I was fortunate to have been in during a quieter time from 78-85…. I, however, was in for six years active duty. At my current age of 70, Not counting my youth until 18, 6 outta 52 years is still more than 1/10 of my adulthood. I have not gotten one iota of anything out of this. Zip! I had almost 4 years of college before I enlisted. I had no more direction for a career when I got out either other than I did my time and learned a trade and made my rank/rate higher. Got out an E5. Didn’t do a damn thing in the job market nor did my trade get me much help at the employment offices I walked into. I went to non-nuke welding school and my time in service qualified as a pipefitter journeyman. I spent enough time in the trade to know that I was not going to work in a shipyard. 5 years after schools fleet active was enough. So, when I see more recent vets cringe about that phrase I am not surprised. Who knows what they had for trauma in Iraq or Afghan conflicts. They certainly know of the collateral damage that happened. That’s probably a hard thing to cope with whether or not they were on any frontline. So … when I hear “thank you for your service” … I often remember FOAD to myself… you really don’t know shit or have a damn clue.