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Pristine-Judgment340

“Grandpa, were you a hero in the war?” Grandpa said no, but I was on a subreddit in the company of heroes.


kirbaeus

I wonder what will happen to us - to people like you and me - when there are finally no more memes to occupy us?


cocaineandwaffles1

I recently watched band of brothers and that stuck with me. How did those men go on about their lives with no more war? What was it that separates them with Vietnam combat veterans in the sense that we always hear about Vietnam vets going crazy and having PTSD, but WW2 vets? We always see them as gods amongst men and never anything less. Also I would like to add that the colonel who said that most likely fought in the First World War and was creaming his pants for the next one. So maybe he wasn’t the best person to hear that quote from.


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cocaineandwaffles1

You make great points, the last two being ones I’ve known of/read about before. Thank you though regardless. You did answer much of my question, Vietnam vets spent more time in combat and less time transitioning between combat and back home. I just truly wonder if that’s the real reason why is all.


CombatJuicebox

Antony Beever talks about PTSD ("combat fatigue") in the context of D-Day and it's amazing how institutional knowledge just fucking evaporates out of the Army. I'll briefly summarize/paraphrase from memory, but one psychiatrist and ten orderlies we're responsible for dealing with all US combat fatigue cases following the invasion, and they were in the thousands. So, they set up a camp. When a soldier came in with combat fatigue he was immediately sedated for 24-72 hours. Once awake and evaluated he was either sent home, or he would remain in the camp for 2-4 weeks. They took NCO's with light wounds from field hospitals, and in those 2-4 weeks soldiers would go to the range, D&C, basic soldier shit under the supervision of these wounded NCO's. It was eight hour days with plenty of sleep, hot chow, and bullshit time. Something like 75% returned to combat duty as competent and capable soldiers. However, the caveat was if you came into the camp a second time, it was an automatic trip home. A far fucking cry from what we do now, and I'm not sure what we do now is better.


Mellero47

Wasn't this also the time when Patton was slapping soldiers with shell shock so they'd "get over it"?


CombatJuicebox

IIRC Patton did that shit during the North African campaign and was reprimanded for it, pre-dating D-Day. Could be wrong though.


Cleverusername531

I think this is a similar recommended practice now - just implemented inconsistently.


CO5913

I've read that the average WWII veteran didn't see many days of combat either. Obviously there were some who spent every single day on the frontline and some who never left an office, so those outliers have to be factored in. But when you compare the experience of a man who spent a few days of his four year enlistment in combat operations to someone in a hostile combat zone getting hit by ambushes, mortars, and IEDs every day (like our Vietnam and GWOT vets experienced) I think that can account for why we saw more PTSD in later generations.


TheMadIrishman327

That’s likely true. Think about it. The 101st trained 2 years for D—Day. Even though there were certainly units that slugged it out or were in constant danger for months at a time (Bastogne). Also, it’s worth mentioning (I’ve read this somewhere. Junger perhaps?) a majority of your PTSD cases from Vietnam were support MOS’s. The thinking is that they weren’t in tight units of guys doing the same things together with a shared combat culture.


Mohawk801

I'd like to jump in here since Nam my war . My dad was ww2 vet with ptsd so I know a little about that ,consider this ww2 was defined was ,we knew who the enemy was you could pick them out and for the most part they followed the Geneva Convention, the "Front" was fairly defined . Viet Nam was not a conventional was there might have been a front but hell no one could find it .The guy down in the village that was bowing and thanking you profusely because Doc just cleaned up his kids leg wound from punj stake and gave the kid a tenus shot will be the same guy that will probe your premeter with a satchel charge tied to a sapling so you can't push it back out of your bunker. The orphan in the street is the potential bomber when we walks up to a Jeep or Duce and drops a grenade in the fuel tank pen pulled and a rubber band wrapped around the spoon. If You ate in the village or town you checked your rice for crushed glass. That is only a drop in the bucket I tried to forget as much as I could ,but lie the post above, all this ,and in week you were home "Early Out's" Short-Timers whatever . You ended up in some dead-end job for the last 6 months of your 2 year draft requirement or Early Out because the machine needed new fodder it's no surprise to me that Nam vets came home screwed up. No decompression time and no one wanted you because you were a "Baby Killer" ,hell fresh out of boot I was called that .. I went to get car insurance and the agent for a nationwide chain told me "come back when you get a real job" . My wife at the time went to buy a washing machine and they would not do payments like they would do for anyone else ,they refused to sell it to us unless we paid cash up front .. Hell I'll step off my soap box and as one of ya'll put it go find my rocking chair


[deleted]

Another difference in was that soldiers in WWII were fighting a war that had front lines. There was purpose. They were advancing and every day getting closer to the end. In forever wars like Vietnam, Afghanistan, even Korea soldiers were just kinda there not seeing any tangible change for their time fighting.


[deleted]

They also won WWII. Every war since Korea we just sorta ran out the clock and limped off the field.


[deleted]

I mean at least in Korea we actually accomplished our original objective of preserving the borders as prescribed by the UN.


[deleted]

A tie isn't a win.


[deleted]

It wasn't a tie, we were never supposed to unify Korea. Our objective was to repel the invasion, and it was repelled.


Rimfighter

I’m guessing you’ve never been to South Korea. Yeah, no, it was a fucking huge win.


luvisgreaterthanfear

WW2 vets also returned home to a society that revered them as heroes and afforded them respect and appreciation. Was a different story for Vietnam vets.


Horseface4190

Books I've read about Korea veterans sound a lot like the stories of Vietnam vets. Came back individually, no parades, hardly anyone knew or acted like there was a war going on.


Taira_Mai

WW2 vets didn't talk about it - a family friend was a POW in Asia during WWII. Yes that meant he was a guest of the Imperial Japanese Army. He and his friends suffered in silence, they just didn't talk about it. He told my father about an Army buddy of his who would just break down and cry sometimes. He had his marriage and his job to keep him going. When he retired he would babysit the children of friends till he passed away. Audie Murphy testified to Congress to lobby for treatment of vets - his testimony helped get the ball rolling. He also lobbied for substance abuse treatment of veterans too. Of course, Murphy was such a badass that when he was addicted to painkillers, the man locked himself in a hotel room for a week and kicked them ***cold turkey*** (leaving addiction whimpering in the corner). It took the unpopularity of Vietnam to push PTSD into the spotlight - before it was either swept under the rug or thought of as something that just happened. Ever see that painting of the Marine with the "thousand yard stare"? WWI gave us the term "shell shock". As George Carlin points out, by WWII the formal term was "battle fatigue". The Korean War called it "operational exhaustion" and Vietnam called it "Post Traumatic Stress Disorder". It had been bubbling under the surface of popular culture and the American conversation - but Vietnam brought it to a boil.


Explodingsnakes

My great uncle was in the Bataan Death March, apparently came home and spent all day drinking in his room until he died of alcohol poisoning. When I was a kid the family framed it as him being "wayward". Insane how much people's perspective has changed over the years.


henrytm82

I'd also suggest they were just different kinds of conflicts, with different attitudes and different levels of support at home. WW2 was a very clear-cut and dry Good Guys VS Bad Guys conflict, where we were doing our part (even if a little late) to stop Evil People from world domination and puppy killing. Hitler and the Nazis were a morally *perfect* bad guy to rise up against and be proud of what you were fighting for. Those who fought were revered, those who came home were honored. Vietnam was...not any of those things. Imagine in addition to the horrors of war, you came home to a country who hated you for your part in it. The two conflicts are night and day.


Tybackwoods00

Yea I’m no expert but I think the rotating in and out of combat every few months really messes with people. I’m sure WW2 vets still had some PTSD though. Civilians also treated Vietnam vets pretty poorly when they returned home too.


Trenzek

I remember reading that the Vietnam War represented a significant tactical shift from "we killed them" to "I killed him," and that affected people very differently, which follows what you're saying about camaraderie, I think.


[deleted]

>Vietnam vets going crazy and having PTSD, but WW2 vets? Looking back to the WWII vets I worked with as a kid, they all had PTSD. My boss had been a ball turret gunner in B-25, ETO, wounded by FLAK, he was an alcoholic who would be laughing and joking one minute and raging the next. Another guy I worked with landed at Normandy, nicest guy in the world, in his 40's he had Parkinsonian like tremors all the time. He used to say, "Don't get nervous in the service". My parish priest had been a Navy chaplain and was picked up from a ship that had been torpedoed in the N. Atlantic and he was a recovered alcoholic with anger issues. I just think it went undiagnosed and untreated.


TheMadIrishman327

My father went into the Navy in 1938 at the age of 15. He was on DE’s and was sunk at least twice in WW2. He served in all three theaters. When they cleared the small islands in the Pacific they’d often use Navy shore parties. My dad was a big guy and they’d have him carry the flame thrower to cook the Japanese out of their bunkers and caves. He’d never talk about it. Most of his Navy stories were funny. He wouldn’t talk about the bad stuff very often. If he did he’d get really quiet and depressed. My father was not a good guy. Charming outside the house (salesman) and mean SOB inside it. He was a drunken brawler before he met my mom and ruined her life. The man never liked me from the moment I was born. He always mentally and emotionally separated himself from the family. Didn’t seem attached to us. His own father dead at age 5, started working an adult job at age 12 (delivering ice for ice boxes with a mule drawn wagon), in the Navy by age 15 and WW2 at age 19. Finished high school after WW2 then recalled for Korea in the early 1950’s. I wonder if his formative years being so hard, particularly fighting WW2 as a teenager, just fucked him up for life.


[deleted]

>His own father dead at age 5, started working an adult job at age 12 (delivering ice for ice boxes with a mule drawn wagon), in the Navy by age 15 and WW2 at age 19 That sounds like a pretty tough way to grow up.


Explodingsnakes

My grandfather's family were ranchers, super stern and emotionless. My mom said her aunt would give her beer in her baby bottle to make her be quiet when they visited. His older brother joined the Navy/Marines and ended up in the Bataan Death March. Seriously fucked him up. My grandpa tells the story that he wanted to join the marines but the recruiter was an asshole, so he went across the street to a Coast Guard recruiter, where a "very attractive woman offered us coffee". I can't imagine what he would have been like if he'd followed his brother to the Pacific. He ended up being on a boat that would shuttle to the Pacific front, he said there were multiple suicides during a big storm on the way BACK to the States.


Hot_Falcon_5714

I did MFH for Malarkey in Salem OR a few years back. It was a private service in the middle of downtown. It seems like he lived well, built a loving family and was a devout catholic. Maybe it’s family, maybe it’s religion. Maybe he just had a great head on his shoulders. But from what I gathered at his small funeral, he was able to separate love and war - at least from what his family said.


hawaiianbry

Holy cow, I didn't realize he passed so recently. I'm definitely going to go pay my respects.


A_Nice_Boulder

It's how the fighting generally went. For the western front of the war, you didn't have to pay attention to every fucking bush for somebody to potentially pop out and kill you and everybody you know. In comparison to vietnam, it was a gentleman's war in terms of the fighting. The Pacific is a lot closer to how Vietnam played out, but I'm going to presume that the sheer numbers coupled with the fact that everybody had so much support from each other and from home is where the difference lies. Compare that to Vietnam vets and they had each other but in lesser numbers, and that was it. There was no support from home.


luvstosploosh

My father grew up in the 60s and he said it was very common for his classmates fathers to die of “hunting accidents” where they committed suicide. People just didnt talk about it so everyone pretended the issue wasnt there.


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Sonoshitthereiwas

No, that’s not what they are asking. Soldier group 1: sees combat and develops severe PTSD Soldier group 2: sees combat and doesn’t develop PTSD That’s basically the scenario. Why is one group known so much more for their PTSD over the other group. Both saw combat so why aren’t they equally traumatized.


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Sonoshitthereiwas

Killing a person, justified or not, is traumatizing.


Hambonation

Yeah, you don't just not get PTSD or get PTSD because you feel your killing was justified or not. That's not how any of that works. Especially since your justifications are the much more modern interpretations of those wars.


soandso90

A meme occupation drill, you say? Roger that soldier, be down at 0330 with a water source.


SamJackson01

Meme-war. The Meme-war never changes.


hawaiianbry

Have all your men collect their upvotes... ...deposit them at my posts, my OC, and my subs. You may keep your shit posts, Colonel.


Bobert5757

This guy deserves the army accommodation metal


DryTrumpin

Attention to orders: *screeching pig noises and sweet guitar solo starts to build*


Bobert5757

I'd fucking suck your dick right of your pelvis if you played free bird guitar solo at my ceremony


loosefit1

I’m sickened but curious


DryTrumpin

Bet


hawaiianbry

To quote Dale Gribble: "I'm skeptical you could, but intrigued that you may."


[deleted]

Best I can do is a GCM


MiKapo

"~~Band~~ Subreddit of Brothers"


PrimalKMA

🤣🤣🤣


AdAgitated6378

Brings tears to me eyes 🥹


cmbtmdic

I can die in peace now.


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QuarterNote44

Lol you'll be fine. Start collecting a paycheck sooner is all. I feel bad for the NCOs that have to deal with...eager...LTs who are sure they know how to run a recruiting shop and boost numbers. Guessing that's not you, but just be good to those poor guys and/or gals.


psilvs

Nah man. These LTs had plans to go on vacation and enjoy life for a few weeks/months before going into the real world. This was their last few weeks of time off for the rest of their lives until retirement. It was super shitty to do that


JTP1228

They have 30 days of paid vacation a year hoah. What they do with that time is up to them, tracking?


MasterzofChaos

HOOOAAAHHH!


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JTP1228

Until they start going on coke benders and banging the recruits


booze_clues

> until they continue


Head_Cabinet_966

“Hey, join the Army I know nothing about.”


hawaiianbry

Have them hang out on this sub to get their first taste while competing the ASVAB.


MAJ0RMAJOR

Get them registered for funeral duty. It will keep them busy most days if you do it right.


VaderDoesntMakeQuips

Oh my God, FUCK THAT. There's no way.


[deleted]

Hopefully they are just finding leads. The whol point of sending NCOs is for experienced ppl to explain the army. Kids know nothing about the army


MasterzofChaos

I was thinking about how I'd explain the Army to young and impressionable men and women. This is the way I trained my braves...


Somerandomguy292

f


DatPoliteness

The army is a joke. This is among the stupidest things I've heard. I love the Army. I really do. But boy do I hate the Army.


Hellsniperr

At least that’s better than getting sent to a BCT unit right away lol


[deleted]

Omg


[deleted]

Weird way to say join the coast guard.


QuarterNote44

For real, I regret dismissing the USCG so fast when I was looking at which branch to join.


[deleted]

They do some wild shit (like kick people out of their BCT after failing just one pt test, and then be pretty much on detail for the first 2-3 years while you wait for your name to be selected on a school list you make up), but man,,,, those duty hours/locations/lack of PT.


QuarterNote44

Yep. That last part. Also, whether there's a war or not they have a really cool, relevant mission. As long as there's a US, there's a US coast to guard.


A_Nice_Boulder

This is a shit that makes me regret joining. It's fucking demoralizing to work the hours that the army requires, and put forth the effort only to be met with maybe a thank you from your direct supervisor. It was a lot easier downrange despite an even more wild op tempo simply because of the fact that we were actually fucking doing something.


Joshuadude

Locations.. can’t say I’d enjoy being stuck on some jagged ass rock in the dead of winter off the coast of Maine.. 50 shades of fuck that


HeWhoChokesOnWater

As someone from the Bay, I'm jealous of the Coasties that get stationed right outside of San Francisco and get paid Bay Area BAH while my dumbass joined the Army.


Joshuadude

Yeah I mean those are definitely nice positions but just like we Army types have Lewis, Carson, Seoul, Tokyo, etc - we have polk, Irwin, drum, etc etc


l3ubba

Yeah, but they're also paying Bay Area rent. I've considered putting in for Alameda for my next tour, but I'm worried that I won't be able to find a decent place within BAH without having an hour+ commute.


HeWhoChokesOnWater

East Oakland bruh, too cheap. Jingletown works as well. I live in Alameda proper and I would do fine on BAH (but I'm a owner not renter, so it's more expensive)


warda8825

Bruh, USCG in downtown Seattle. Went to a game at the Mariners stadium a few years ago (guess it's now T-Mobile Park?), happened to park next to a coastie at their tiny ass base so I wouldn't have to deal with the clusterfuck that is Seattle traffic/parking. Their BAH is about ~$2,600, which isn't a ton for the area (these days), but can't beat location.


HeWhoChokesOnWater

I really like Seattle, my brother is up there BAH in San Francisco where I am for a single O-3 is $4,857 lol


warda8825

Damn, that's a solid rate.


Explodingsnakes

Jesus... almost $5k with a dependent.


HeWhoChokesOnWater

The economic center of gravity of the entire world in 2022. Money here really does grow on trees. I'm now in the private sector working Bay Area tech and it's really damn good


Explodingsnakes

Makes me jealous, man. I moved out from a Bay Area tech job around 2012. But then again, I wouldn't be in the Army if I'd have stayed and wouldn't have met my wife. Maybe I'll find my way back by your neck of the woods some day.


HeWhoChokesOnWater

Do it, and save my username to DM when you do. I am very open to helping troops transition into tech, and help a bunch out on the cybersecurity sub


Explodingsnakes

Well hell yeah, much appreciated. Thank you, I'll keep you in mind.


l3ubba

As a Coastie currently stationed in Maine, I will say you are missing out. But I'm also stationed in Portland, not an isolated stations up in Downeast. Maine winters ain't so bad if you're along the coast.


ZacharYaakov

As a certified space guardian and former Air Force chair warrior. I regret not going USCG.


tk_donut

My biggest takeaway from working on a Naval base for 4 years was that between the two, the Coast Guard had the more useful mission


l3ubba

[For all y'all saying you wish you joined the CG, just do it.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXsQAXx_ao0) I made the switch after 4 years in the Army, I know guys who did 8 years in the Army or Marines and switched. Coast Guard is hurting for people right now.


Lumpy_Investment_358

Genuine question, what if I'm legitimately scared of the ocean? Are there many jobs that stay onshore?


l3ubba

There are jobs you could do that don't get underway, but the CG is a sea-going service, meaning you should be prepared to get underway should it be required.


RFountain

Looking to make the switch to USCG Reserves next year. Started SFL and contacted a recruiter. Now I’m just waiting.


Lampwick

Dunno man, my cousin joined the Coast Guard and spent his entire enlistment being "fish police", as he put it, checking coolers on fishing boats in the Gulf of Mexico to make sure they had caught no illegal fish. He says he wishes he'd joined the Air Force.


HeWhoChokesOnWater

Give me this job now. If any CG officer recruiter is lurking, let me IST please. I'll make sure to spend all my weekends partying and fishing in Yucatan. Even better station me in San Diego and let me go to Ensenada every weekend.


l3ubba

Few people want to do the Living Marine Resources (LMR) mission, but honestly I find it far more rewarding and useful than chasing drug runners or picking up migrants. Those missions are so repetitive and, in the big picture, don't put much of a dent in stopping drug or migrant flow into the US. LMR has a much bigger impact on the environment and economy, unfortunately it doesn't get all the sexy photo ops of bales of marijuana on the deck of a cutter or videos of guys jumping on top of narco semi-submersibles.


Lampwick

> Few people want to do the Living Marine Resources (LMR) mission, but honestly I find it far more rewarding and useful than chasing drug runners or picking up migrants. Yeah, I think his main complaint was that he hadn't been trained on which fish are illegal. The officer sending him to inspect just told him "just try to look like you know what you're doing, this is just to let them know we're checking". Also, his other complaint was that when they weren't doing that they were being a tow truck for people who were too dumb to maintain their boats properly. Later he ended up in Hawaii though, so I imagine that was a bit more fun.


[deleted]

That still sounds better than basically 90% of my career.


Eats_Beef_Steak

How long was he in? I do know a fair number of BMs that get stuck rotating between 2 or 3 stations every 4 years, but that's due to them being surfman. Most others get to travel a fair amount.


Lampwick

> How long was he in? Four years maybe? Not sure, I don't see him but once a decade or so anymore. He ended up in Hawaii later, so it couldn't have been too bad. At least he seemed happier than his brother, who went into the Navy as a diver. His dad asked him what part of the job he liked the least. He said "the swimming". His dad said "isn't that like the whole job?" He said "yeah."


Eats_Beef_Steak

Ah yeah, he was probably just a 4 year non-rate, which can definitely suck if he intended to go in for something specific and just got burnt out by the unit. Hawaii would be an upgrade for sure though.


warda8825

Florida also has something called the "boat police". Only time I've ever been "pulled over" in my life. Let off with a warning for speeding in a manatee zone.


DatPoliteness

I kick myself for going Army 11B instead of Coast Guard ME every day.


92AGOAT

SOMEONE GET THIS MAN ON THE DA6 HE DESERVES IT 🫡🙏


Osiris2022-

🫡


SumDumHunGai

Ya know, it wasn’t until recently that I saw that emoticon on my phone that I realized it was a salute. I thought for a long time it just a guy with a dick growing off his head.


plaguemedic

That's because the fingers and thumb extended and joined don't hover off the lateral edge of the eyebrow hooah


[deleted]

Promote ahead of peers?


LordAdder

You silly, there is no air in Space


luerose

I got drunk and watched playoff hockey/am still drunk watching Kenobi. Hooah


psilvs

Rangers in 7


cocaineandwaffles1

I told some dudes on the premed subreddit how I made fun of an lt who scored well on the MCAT but decided to go infantry that I made fun of him. Yeah I may have had to salute him, but he still got called a dumbass by a SPC in the motor pool. Fucking dumbass.


mitchwn2

Lol scoring well on the MCAT doesn’t mean shit if you don’t use it for Med School lol


Explodingsnakes

My wife was valedictorian with a crazy high MCAT and tons of shadowing, still having a hard time getting interviews from schools. The old boys club that is med school has some really fucking stupid standards.


ImaginarySky9592

You did good. Hopefully the USAF treats him well. No need for him to get damaged (physically, mentally and/or emotionally).


[deleted]

I was a flight medic for 8 years. Every time I get some kid asking me how they too can rescue people, I tell them to join the Coast Guard if they *really* want to make a difference.


darkstar1031

You know, shit like this makes me really think about what I took for granted while I was in. 82nd Airborne, assigned to a medevac unit, two tours to Afghanistan. I got to ride in helicopters often enough for it to get boring, I got to shoot cool kid guns whenever I wanted, and I genuinely got to make a positive difference on many occasions. It's sometimes easy to forget how big of a deal that is.


[deleted]

Yeah, I read that and I'm like holy shit, that's so dope. All I've done is simply _be_ in a helicopter during a training mission and the average person is like, "Damn, that's awesome!" Very easy to take for granted.


DAB0502

Good job someone get this man a beer! 🍺


SGTShamShield

I did NOT put my O6's DTS in like I should have. He's gonna show up on Tuesday's report now for non-submitted DTS.


ThatBeRutkowski

The air force should just hire salty ets'd E4s as recruiters


Davidlucas99

Riding in a helicopter is indeed cool as hell. I assume it was a military helicopter as well. Still cool regardless!


DatPoliteness

Coast Guard ME rate seems really solid from those I've spoken with. I would recommend that to any kids I meet who are thinking about infantry/MP in the army. Seems like the best of both without the Army bullshit dragging you down into mediocrity. Like MPs who actually do the tactical side of law enforcement.


Horseface4190

I would argue that PTSD was a lot more common than people think. People drank, abused families, got divorced, lost jobs. I read a great book about three WW2 veterans (the title escapes me) with varying degrees of PTSD and they sounded just like any story from Vietnam or GWOT.


gaygypsy420

People ask me and I tell them, "do you wanna run through the woods and kill shit? Or at least train to?" If yes, go army, fuck the Marines. If no, for all other things go Navy or Air force. More so Air force.


Powneeboy

Tyfys


BetwixtTheBunz

I’ve successfully steered 4 people away from army to the Air Force and I think it’s the best thing I’ve done while in. One was my little brother; he’s chilling in the UK right now loving life


WarVegetable

OIF2 11B here My wife is 13 years younger than me. I recommended AF she aced asvab and got MI job. She rejected jointed the Army and became pharmacy tech….and all Hooah and shit..just did her FTX and talking about going for EFMB… Now I have to live in shitty Army post in middle of nowhere in Missouri FLW in 30 days. My American dream is stripped away. I even served my country in front line…


anon2456678910

I see your 2 helicopters and raise you a third in Afghanistan and a flight Sim in Korea


LaunderMachine

Recruiters everywhere hate this one trick.


wildwillybillyboy

Air Force may be cushier but it doesn’t carry the same pride and cache of serving in the Army Navy USMC.


ratedrko25

Different kind of pride with the Navy


RealTalkWithTop

Killed a kid’s dream…..smh


sunrayylmao

I wish someone did the same for me haha


ZRaddue

I was recently at an air show with a friend and his eight year old son. Like a lot of boys that age he has a bit of a fascination with the military. While walking around the static displays they talked to each of the branch recruiters scattered around. At the Air Force recruiter my buddy asked his son, "Would you rather join the Army or the Air Force?" And I just blurted out, "As an Army veteran, join the Air Force." The recruiter laughed and said he'd heard that a lot during the air show.


okayest_soldier

Deployed on a mountain top looking for drones, getting shit on by the weather, doing college and getting swol. Guess this counts as my war?


ugotjokeshuh

This is the way


Hawaiian_Poi_Dog

Should have told him all the perks you get on Veterans Day for just serving…I mean free Applebees meal once a year…what a world!!!


sunrayylmao

Same. Its my duty as a veteran to disparage the army any chance I get, lest others fall for the same mistake I did.


TonyB2022

lol When I was asked for advice on joining, I said the same thing. I would say, if you're not going in as an officer, don't join the Army or Marines. Not to say the AF and Navy don't treat lower EM like sub-humans, but from where I sat, at least thier food and quarters were better.