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It is no secret that in general, humans are very opinionated. I think that is a great thing and makes our country stronger for it. Yet, recently I was talking with a group of people and the idea of the "angry Vet" came up. This group was made up of civilians and Veterans from all eras. We started talking about how, again in general, Veterans have this passion of working towards what they feel is right. Yet, sometimes this passion is seen as bitterness, anger, or entitlement.
Now, for those of you that know me either through this site or personally know that I am the last person to seek out something because of entitlement. We are entitled to only what we work for but I have to admit that I agree with the group when it comes to the anger and sometimes bitterness. And I think this time of the year with the Presidential election process at full speed, we sometimes allow our passions to take a different form. Yet, it is not just the elections that can bring this side out of us.
I do not think I am the only one here that gets frustrated. Let it be at work, home, or where ever, I sometimes find my fuse just a little shorter at times. It has gotten better over the last few years. I at least understand some of the whys that cause my fuse to shorten from time to time. Such as my frustration with having a hard time remembering things. But I also had to work very on on learning how to remain calm when working with others that do not necessarily work in the same mind set as me. Like most of you, I work in a very detailed manner. I see the issue and try to work on it step by step, trying my best to plan for the future but focused deeper on the 50 meter targets. Some people I work with both professionally and personally have what I classify as the "nuke them all" mind set. That being, when an issue comes up, they just want to fix everything all at once. This can and has caused issues with me and yes, elevated my anger. And it remains to be one of the areas I work on every day.
So why this post you may ask? Well honestly, I had two objectives here. First, I find it very good for my mind, body and soul to come here and share these type of things with this community. When I have something happen like this conversation, I find it to be a good move to ask others that I trust for their thoughts on the subject matter. Secondly, through recent observations of what has been happening here in the community, I think we all need to step back and reflect on how our actions both individually and collectively reflect on all of us. Being a Veteran is not just a solo act. We will forever be linked together through the hardships we endured to provide freedom for our country. But that also means we remained linked even after we take off the uniform. My actions reflect on you just as your actions reflect on me. Good or bad, we are forever brothers and sisters-in-arms. So while it is great to have a passion towards something or strong feelings about an idea, concept or point of view, we are sometimes challenged to remind ourselves that we cannot always just go from 0 to 60 and let our emotions get the best of us. Sometimes the best thing is to listen, analyze and then form our thoughts.
Now, for those of you that know me either through this site or personally know that I am the last person to seek out something because of entitlement. We are entitled to only what we work for but I have to admit that I agree with the group when it comes to the anger and sometimes bitterness. And I think this time of the year with the Presidential election process at full speed, we sometimes allow our passions to take a different form. Yet, it is not just the elections that can bring this side out of us.
I do not think I am the only one here that gets frustrated. Let it be at work, home, or where ever, I sometimes find my fuse just a little shorter at times. It has gotten better over the last few years. I at least understand some of the whys that cause my fuse to shorten from time to time. Such as my frustration with having a hard time remembering things. But I also had to work very on on learning how to remain calm when working with others that do not necessarily work in the same mind set as me. Like most of you, I work in a very detailed manner. I see the issue and try to work on it step by step, trying my best to plan for the future but focused deeper on the 50 meter targets. Some people I work with both professionally and personally have what I classify as the "nuke them all" mind set. That being, when an issue comes up, they just want to fix everything all at once. This can and has caused issues with me and yes, elevated my anger. And it remains to be one of the areas I work on every day.
So why this post you may ask? Well honestly, I had two objectives here. First, I find it very good for my mind, body and soul to come here and share these type of things with this community. When I have something happen like this conversation, I find it to be a good move to ask others that I trust for their thoughts on the subject matter. Secondly, through recent observations of what has been happening here in the community, I think we all need to step back and reflect on how our actions both individually and collectively reflect on all of us. Being a Veteran is not just a solo act. We will forever be linked together through the hardships we endured to provide freedom for our country. But that also means we remained linked even after we take off the uniform. My actions reflect on you just as your actions reflect on me. Good or bad, we are forever brothers and sisters-in-arms. So while it is great to have a passion towards something or strong feelings about an idea, concept or point of view, we are sometimes challenged to remind ourselves that we cannot always just go from 0 to 60 and let our emotions get the best of us. Sometimes the best thing is to listen, analyze and then form our thoughts.
Posted in these groups: 
Command Post
Transition
Command Post Transition
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 11
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In general I am not an angry veteran SGT Ben Keen. I learned over the 34 years that I wore the uniform that no chain of command is perfect and tends to be as weak it's weakest links.
I saw the impact of wise national level decisions and foolish national decisions with the vast majority falling in between.
1. Learning to wait patiently is a skill learned in the crucible. I went to bat for my soldiers many ties. Sometimes they benefitted and sometimes they didn't. I chose early on display respect for my superiors, peers and subordinates as much as I could and never to be a yes man and it has helped me sleep well at night.
2. Dealing with military retirements system and the VA Processes can be very frustrating because they are far from perfect - yet many especially at the lower echelons of the VA do their best to help veterans. The further removed from dealing with constituents that government bureaucrats are they more out of touch they tend to be.
3. As a Christian I have learned to better respect people. I try to remember that each of us are created in the image of God and worthy of respect.
4. I am careful when I get involved with political issues and inflammatory discussions of any kind including race-baiting, religious antagonizing, or any dehumanizing discussions.
I saw the impact of wise national level decisions and foolish national decisions with the vast majority falling in between.
1. Learning to wait patiently is a skill learned in the crucible. I went to bat for my soldiers many ties. Sometimes they benefitted and sometimes they didn't. I chose early on display respect for my superiors, peers and subordinates as much as I could and never to be a yes man and it has helped me sleep well at night.
2. Dealing with military retirements system and the VA Processes can be very frustrating because they are far from perfect - yet many especially at the lower echelons of the VA do their best to help veterans. The further removed from dealing with constituents that government bureaucrats are they more out of touch they tend to be.
3. As a Christian I have learned to better respect people. I try to remember that each of us are created in the image of God and worthy of respect.
4. I am careful when I get involved with political issues and inflammatory discussions of any kind including race-baiting, religious antagonizing, or any dehumanizing discussions.
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I don't know if I would say I'm an "angry veteran". I'm more of a "moderately pissed off" or "heavily agitated" type. Very rarely do I get truly angry. I've called in heavy ordinance a few times when I should have just popped smoke and executed a strategic withdrawal. I think we all fall into that trap now and then though. It's part of what makes us human.
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SGT Ben Keen I see angry vets and will add that most have a reason for being angry. I will explore the VA system for a moment to discuss the angst which may result in anger. First, many vets have little idea of the separation between the VBA (Benefits) and the VHA (Medical). I have had mostly good experiences with the medical side of the house and mostly tolerable experiences with the benefits side. I have seen the mistrust of the system create even greater angst and anger among vets. In most cases it is well earned and deserved. For example, call the National call center and attempt to obtain current real time information about your claim. They MUST get there information from eBenefits as they have no other information to offer and are ambivalent when you ask questions. Its not their fault, it's the system, but the system creates an angry vet.
Thank you for posting this SGT Ben Keen
Thank you for posting this SGT Ben Keen
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