Cool/uncool thing happened at work today

[TEAMRICO]

Shit man, I got misty eyed for sec reading that.

[BigBear]

...Not everyone can serve...

Man, very cool McC. Ginsue, that's where I struggle, not everyone can serve. I come from a .mil family but due to a car wreck in HS I was never able to sign on the line. But to toot my own horn (Ha) I won several positions on auditions for .mil bands ranging from the USAF Falcs to USAA Pershings Own. Just could never sign the line...

I have the utmost respect for all over soldiers and Marines.

Not everyone can serve in the military. BUT everyone CAN serve in some capacity by helping with little things (buying a drink, etc) to serve the ones who served us. So rest easy McC. You done good.

[68Charger]

Not everyone should serve. But, appreciating the contributions, sacrifices and experienced dangers of those who did is something everyone should do.

Man, very cool McC. Ginsue, that's where I struggle, not everyone can serve. I come from a .mil family but due to a car wreck in HS I was never able to sign on the line. But to toot my own horn (Ha) I won several positions on auditions for .mil bands ranging from the USAF Falcs to USAA Pershings Own. Just could never sign the line...

I have the utmost respect for all over soldiers and Marines.

Not everyone can serve in the military. BUT everyone CAN serve in some capacity by helping with little things (buying a drink, etc) to serve the ones who served us. So rest easy McC. You done good.

I fall more under the "not everyone should serve" category... not because I think I'm better or it's beneath me, it's more like I don't think it would have gone well for me at the time... at least not until I turned 40 did I think I had the right mindset (and then It was obviously too late)
I have the utmost respect for those that have served, and like others I regret that I did not... but it was not the path I chose.

And MC, I think you did nothing wrong- he left you the hat because he thought you deserved it more than him.

[Limited GM]

Sounds like it was pretty cool all the way around.

Agreed.

[ray1970]

I'm embarrassed to admit that in my 20 years of service I never deployed. Hell, I can't even lay claim to being a REMF. Minus a remote tour to Korea, I stayed stateside my entire career. During DS1, I tried hard to deploy. Back then I was all "Gung-Ho G.I. Joe". My repeated requests to deploy were all met with the same response: "You're too valuable here to let you deploy." Maybe I should have felt proud of my contributions but I simply felt cheated. Since they wouldn't deploy me I tried to make up for it in other ways. I did my job the best I could. I joined an OPFOR team to help those who would be deploying think like the bad guys so they could better protect themselves. I "played cop" by volunteering as an AF Security Forces augmentee. During my seven months in that duty I learned the job well, I became "wrap certified" to work with/train the K9's and was eventually allowed to "QC" to ride patrol without a career field cop alongside. When the second Gulf War began, shortly before I retired, I was informed that I was medically disqualified from deploying. While I know my contributions were important, I still feel inferior to those who deployed and were literally in harms way. If I was still active today I'd be quite the oddity as someone who'd never deployed. Perhaps my time in uniform, yet never deploying, helps me know firsthand the genuine appreciation felt by those who've not served. Not everyone can serve. Not everyone should serve. But, appreciating the contributions, sacrifices and experienced dangers of those who did is something everyone should do.

I'm no expert but I would guess an overwhelming number of those who served never went directly in harms way. Every job has its part in keeping the whole thing working and functioning like it should. Even those who haven't directly put life and limb on the line have made sacrifices to serve.

I appreciate your service, Thomas.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I'm embarrassed to admit that in my 20 years of service I never deployed. Hell, I can't even lay claim to being a REMF. Minus a remote tour to Korea, I stayed stateside my entire career. During DS1, I tried hard to deploy. Back then I was all "Gung-Ho G.I. Joe". My repeated requests to deploy were all met with the same response: "You're too valuable here to let you deploy." Maybe I should have felt proud of my contributions but I simply felt cheated. Since they wouldn't deploy me I tried to make up for it in other ways. I did my job the best I could. I joined an OPFOR team to help those who would be deploying think like the bad guys so they could better protect themselves. I "played cop" by volunteering as an AF Security Forces augmentee. During my seven months in that duty I learned the job well, I became "wrap certified" to work with/train the K9's and was eventually allowed to "QC" to ride patrol without a career field cop alongside. When the second Gulf War began, shortly before I retired, I was informed that I was medically disqualified from deploying. While I know my contributions were important, I still feel inferior to those who deployed and were literally in harms way. If I was still active today I'd be quite the oddity as someone who'd never deployed. Perhaps my time in uniform, yet never deploying, helps me know firsthand the genuine appreciation felt by those who've not served. Not everyone can serve. Not everyone should serve. But, appreciating the contributions, sacrifices and experienced dangers of those who did is something everyone should do.

I know what you mean. I tried to volunteer during DS1 but was deemed more valuable where I was stateside. I tried again via MFR and my squadron commander wrote back that no meant no and he didn't want to hear anymore about it. When OIF kicked off, I made sure everyone in my division got weapons qualified and scheduled to supplement the base cops when they were home stateside (our job involved deployments overseas but not in connection with OIF). I tried again to volunteer when a short term deployment came up but was rejected as I already had PCS orders for Korea. I tried to argue that I'd get home with a month or two to prepare for the PCS but was told to focus on getting my selected captains ready for the deployment. Like you, I know what I did was important but still feel somewhat lacking in never having been in harms way.