As I went through the morning routine, I thought about why I thank Veterans and exactly what they might want to be thanked and remembered for. So here’s my Veterans Day post to summarize a few reasons why active duty and post-service military members should be remembered and thanked:
1. All military members may not deploy or go to combat on foreign soil but they are still put in countless hours doing their actual jobs in the military + all the extra training that’s demanded of them. These are often thankless duties like fueling + fixing generators in the dark bitter cold, directing personnel movements on a dark freezing flight line or standing guard while the dumpsters are emptied. Thank you to those who do this without complaint.
2. In the military normal pay is based on what rank you are (or you earn). So thank you to the brilliant young service members who volunteer to serve and are put into jobs that may not be their choice.
3. Military members forward-deploy to a myriad of bases and places around the world. Sometimes on ship, sometimes to air bases in places you’ve never been to and sometimes to Forward Operating Bases in dangerous places. These deployments are not by choice…except each of those folks is a volunteer for military service. But these folks were away from their families for long blocks of time before the deployment doing workups and their normal jobs…so there is more hardship than one might think of. This is what you thank a Veteran for.
4. Thank a Veteran for the hard training they’ve done to get into the military and the leadership skills + technical ability they have once they leave the military.
5. I think about multiple family members who survived Vietnam, Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Iraq and Afghanistan. I think of friends who forward deployed multiple times into these places…who continued to thrive in the military despite debilitating injuries to “get” their 20 or 30 years for retirement. Multiple friends have survived Cancer (stress & trash fires?), have multiple physical injuries and/or severe debilitating migraines. But you see them…look for the glint in their eyes. And….they’ll be the ones at the parades/memorials all over the US….because they care. This is why you thank a Veteran.
6. Lastly, military members often leave behind families when they head off to training or deployments. These family members are left to figure things out by themselves with some limited resources provided by the military. Those same family members don’t get the big welcome home events, the free food or the thanks that you give the Veteran. Family members endure training periods and deployments with hardships that few take into account. So I take this time to thank the military family members too!
I appreciate that businesses give discounts and free food to Veterans on this day….but a simple “Thank you for your service” goes a long way too. Have a great holiday weekend.
If you are a US Armed Forces Veteran reading this post….”Thank you for your service”.
LF2TS supports Veterans and their families 100% and I encourage you to take the time to quietly and sincerely Thank a Veteran today. Thank you for reading….have a great weekend. Coming next….our ReDONKulous announcement!
Some of the other Veterans Day Posts I’ve done over the years:
United States Marine Corps Birthday and Veterans’ Day 2021
Remembering Veterans This 2020
Not Forgotten: Happy Veterans Day
Happy Veterans Day and Happy Marine Corps Birthday
One Response
Thank you for these thoughts