Am I just weird?

Don't play down what you volunteered for, you weren't drafted you stepped up for your country. Thank you for your service.

 

Not weird at all........

A couple weeks ago my 8 year old son and me were in Wal-Mart, he pointed at man and said check out the army man dad! I looked up and it was an Air Force NCO in his BDUs. I said "yeah son that's one of the good guys that fights to keep us free" then I followed that up with "give him a salute to thank him for what he does" So my boy does his best "army salute" as he called it and turns out the airman appeared to not take this gesture very well. While he didn't SAY anything, his body language told me he was D bag. Now I know from my brief stint in the Army, that saluting an NCO is a no no, but to act the way this guy did about an 8 year old was a bit much IMO.

Also, being I am a casino supervisor (what you guys call a "pit boss") when ever I come across service men and women I tend to comp them a bit more than I would others.

 

Anyone who is willing to give there life to fight for my right, even after half of the country abuses them or mistreats is a hero.

Kind of like these WBC people, protesting soldiers funerals... If that was my family members funeral or friend, I'd be taken to jail for attempted murder, I wouldn't be able to control myself

We need to seriously reconsider who can use free speech like that, ridiculous!

there are some people who honestly make me ashamed to be American. WBC is almost an embarrassment to the human species. It's pretty bad when the KKK despises you lol

 

He could possibly mean he did his 4,6 or 8 and got out to work in security. My Dad retired at 20 years and then retired again from civil service after 10 years. My mom retired after 28 and is about to retire after 6 from civil service. Just because he is "retired" doesnt mean he retired from the military

 

Oh and x2

 

I'm not sure what my cousin does these days, he has done so many different things though he is fucking set kid could probably live good off his savings for the rest of his life. whatever lol

 

True. I guess I've just always viewed it as 20 year is "retired" and anything before that is just "getting out". Since 20 is the magic number.

 

Well yeah retiring from the military is 20 years but you can retire from other jobs lol

 

I know that! LOL I was strictly referring to the military. Guess I should have made that more clear lol

 

Chosin Reservoir by chance? Unbelievable fight, you should check out the documentary. Words cannot describe the hell and horror they went through.

 

I sometimes feel weird when people shake my hand or say thank you for your service, but I understand that, like the OP, it's out of respect and thus try to get over my feeling weird about it. I usually respond with something like, "It's my pleasure." Because really it is. I do amazing things that I wouldn't be able to do if it weren't for the military. When I get out i'm not going to be able to jump out of a plane in the middle of the night with O2 and a navboard and fly a parachute 15 miles to a random point in the middle of the desert(America desert). I deffinitely won't be able to put together a 32,000lb shot and watch that sucker go away. And, at least not legally, I won't be able to carry a fully auto gun around in foreign countries, loaded and ready.
I get paid pretty well for where I live, esp with my extra pays, but I'll tell you what, I don't get paid enough for the level of responsibility I have, the knowledge I've attained, and the hours I work. Even if you were to take the "schooling" i've received in the military and charge me for it like I would have to do on the outside, I don't get paid enough. It varies throughout the year, but when deployed I'm on call 24/7, even if I'm in a cush area and not Afghan. Before I go I'm on a 3-6 month workup where, except for weekends, I'm working an average of 14 hour days. About to start another month to get certed to deploy where we'll be working about 16 hours a day. Hot as ballz, in weird positions, doing any number of the, feels like, billions of areas of responsibility that are withing my job description.
I'd never turn down more money, but I also have a fully stocked fridge, a nice car(I'm still singleish so that could change soon), and extra money in the bank just in case. I've gotten my dive cert paid for, my USPA Level A and B paid for, and so much knowledge that I just want to give a ton of it back. There are weeks that make all the BS worth it too. Two weeks ago I got to jump out of a Helo and then later that day go diving.
The long and short of it is this. I'm blessed, but work my butt off for everything I have. There are easy jobs in the military; ex. the dude in the airforce that sits the gym desk. And there are hard jobs in the military, the dude on the flight deck of a carrier that starts work before jets take off and doesn't leave that god forsaken scary place until the last jet comes back, sometimes 20 hours. And then there is my job, which is awesome, but frustrating. haha. But because of my job I've already decided that when I get out, in about 13 years, I'm going to mow lawns for two years. Something I can take pride in but unltimatly not really have any responsibility.

 

Keep on keeping on Op ,,I always say thanks to the kids when I run across them today... Ive seen times when service folks were not treated right.. Glad those days are long gone,,, Jim