Do you feel the older you get, the more proud you are of your service?

SPC Jay Peltier — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 22:36:37 -0500

I have always been proud, but it seems the older I get, the pride gets stronger.

I served with the 82nd... I was a Paratrooper, I was deployed to Desert Shield/Storm... Hell, I met Schwartzkoff...

Am I unique in my feelings of increased pride as I age?

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 5 at 2023 10:57 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 22:57:36 -0500

I don't think more pride comes with age. Pride is there or it's not there. What makes it look like there is more pride with time is that there are less people around having pride in what they do/have done.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Mar 5 at 2023 11:29 PM

SGT Philip Roncari — Sun, 05 Mar 2023 23:29:08 -0500

Without question the older I get and I’m pretty damn old) I feel a stronger sense of pride in my service of course it may be the Vietnam Vet thing,I served with the 4th Infantry Division,…I was a Grunt in the Central Highlands…I never met Westmoreland,saw his chopper fly over us a couple of times though, Welcome Home Brothers.

Response by SPC James Neidig made Mar 6 at 2023 2:07 AM

SPC James Neidig — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 02:07:38 -0500

Anyone Who Served Honorably Should Be Proud. The S-1 Clerks, The Cooks, The Medics And All The Other Support Jobs Kept The Front Line Troops In The Battle.
They Did A Job That Most Americans Didn’t Do.
Even During So Called Peace Time Any Of Us Could Have Given Our Lives For This Country.
That Alone Is Something To Be Proud Of.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 6 at 2023 5:59 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 05:59:38 -0500

No, it's completely natural for us to cherish memories.

Response by SSG Dennis R. made Mar 6 at 2023 9:50 AM

SSG Dennis R. — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 09:50:40 -0500

Proud of my service? Most certainly.
What I don't have is an attachment to any one unit. I served in 4 divisions, 2 Corps, 3 Support Commands, and 2 hospitals. I started in aviation, after 'Nam, became a mental health counselor, and worked in clinics.
I don't know about now, but back in the day, the mental health / drug -alcohol rehab folks were not really welcome company at social functions. Folks were afraid of us.
Just about everybody I saw in my work was in trouble, and a half-step from a discharge.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 6 at 2023 4:27 PM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 06 Mar 2023 16:27:16 -0500

Proud then, proud now, proud always. "turn to m-f-ers" lol

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 7 at 2023 1:07 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 07 Mar 2023 13:07:59 -0500

Military Service is a unique thing we in our society get to continue riding the coat tails.

I like to compare my skill set in the military with my civilian path, and then it hit me one day. A CPT is really nothing more than a bank branch manager. A LTC might be like a regional manager for bank branches.

If one goes into a social situation and tells folks, hey I manage the local bank branch folks are not impressed. They think, hey, that's fine, you probably make good money.

But if you tell them you are a CPT or a LTC they think WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! when in reality it's sort of the same level of professional accomplishment. I mean really, for one to be impressed with someone's civilian level of CEO that same level of accomplishment would typically be a 3-Star level in the military.

The same goes for lower enlisted. When I was a E5 I was 40 years old. Folks were WOW you're a SGT, you look so young (hahahahahhaaaaaaaa) when really I was at least 2 ranks behind my age :-)

When we step away from our service it doesn't matter what we did or how far we got in our careers. We all seem to be looked at in similar light.

I do a lot of military funeral details (on the order of one a week), and I get a lot of "thank you for being here, and your service, ect...." So I see a disproportionate amount of appreciation and it adds value to what I get out of the service.

I suppose, as time goes on for all of us, that appreciation we all slowly collect during our lives starts to accumulate and become significant in our lives.

Example: One funeral I did was for a second wave D-Day veteran. He was only a PFC. I thought WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! I get to hold this man's flag and hand it off. In 1946, when there were millions of them he was just another dude making his way in life after his service.

We'll all get there.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 5 at 2023 1:22 PM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 05 Aug 2023 13:22:38 -0400

No, Jay, you are not unique as far as having more pride in your service as you get older. I was in the United States Army Security Agency and had a top secret cryptologic clearance. I achieved only a Sp-5, E-5 ranking prior to my ETS. At the time, with such a low rank, I didn't have a larger perspective as to what I and my soldier-peers were doing in the overall, larger mission. Over the years, this changed and I came to realize that the larger mission was something that I was working towards but on a micro-level. I now know that there was a macro-level mission and, as such, I was both a part of something larger than myself and I am now much more prideful for what I and the rest of the Army Security Agency accomplished during my four-year enlistment during the Vietnam War Era, 1966-1970.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Dec 18 at 2023 3:47 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 18 Dec 2023 15:47:59 -0500

No. The military chapter is all but closed most of the time. I have too much going on now and in front of me.