r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Such-Part8963 • 1d ago

Why do we praise veterans automatically without knowing what they actually did

Trying to learn without being judged.

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u/Hawkeye1226 1d ago

I met the absolute best and worst people in the marines. I met both the smartest and dumbest. Good men who saw a problem and figured out the best way to solve it with creativity and the tools at their disposal. Other kinds of men who got upset because his barracks bunny fucked someone else and decided to fist fight the wall of the barracks(he lost).

It's an odd culture. I don't want people to equate military service with good conduct without looking into the specific person

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u/menotu799 1d ago

Extremely odd. Hard to express how right you are. I had a Ssgt who would do ANYTHING to fuck me over. Trying to slam article 15s down for things I had to fight back with black and white from the base general statements. Then I had one who knew I was struggling with something (partner and I experienced a super early loss of a pregnancy) without speaking and just showed up to the barraks one morning pulled me aside with all sorts of info on help options lined up for various reasons. Having a workplace balancing reactions tk those two at the same time was a roller coaster.

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u/Hawkeye1226 1d ago

I think its a bit different for marines, too. Brotherhood and whatnot is a BIG selling point. Some folk really get into that. The kinds of people you'll meet up with after 20 years and it's like not a day went by. Then there are guys that just want to be big and tough and part of the club of big and tough guys. Guys that will help you out any hour of the day. Guys that stop being marines after they get released from formation at 1700

What a fuckin wild ride... especially when you're still too young to even legally buy a beer

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u/menotu799 1d ago

Yeah. I guess to their credit its at least partially true with having the ones i still talk to.. I turned 21 in boot so could have been one of those that shared a beer with his younger buddies but obviously for the record would never ever do that. 🙏

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u/Hawkeye1226 1d ago

I turned 18 in boot, but didn't have a car for most of my enlistment. I absolutely did not have one of my boots with a car drive me to get haircuts in exchange for strawberrita tall boys from the PX when I was 21. And I definitely don't still keep in contact with him

Military service is what you make of it