"Homeless Veteran" in the Lowe's Parking lot.

[Zundfolge]

So, I'm at Lowe's this morning getting stuff for the honey-do list and as I'm loading my stuff in the car there's this homeless dude that comes shuffling past with a sign ... heading for the entrance of the parking lot where he'll sit and beg. His sign says "Homeless Veteran. Please Help"


A couple stalls down from me is this kid (I say kid ... probably mid 20s) with a full beard, lots of tats, lots of muscles loading his stuff into a lifted 4x4 and he sees the guy, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a money clip and says to the guy "Hey, brother..." and the homeless dude spins around and starts shuffling back ... with purpose now because he sees the money clip.


When the Homeless guy got about 6 feet from the kid he asks the homeless guy "So, brother, what was your MOS?"


Homeless guy stops cold, confused look on his face (like this kid was speaking German or something). Says "My what?"


Kid says (slower and more deliberately this time) "What was your MOS?"


Bum is still confused and says "I don't know"


Kid stuffs the money clip back into his pocket and says "Man, get the fuck out of here! And lose the sign because if I catch you pretending to be a vet again I'll fuckin' feed it to you."

That's when I noticed the giant globe and anchor on the rear window of his truck.




Anyway, I thought it was funny ... and I learned how to deal with homeless "vets".

[BladesNBarrels]

So, I'm at Lowe's this morning getting stuff for the honey-do list and as I'm loading my stuff in the car there's this homeless dude that comes shuffling past with a sign ... heading for the entrance of the parking lot where he'll sit and beg. His sign says "Homeless Veteran. Please Help"


A couple stalls down from me is this kid (I say kid ... probably mid 20s) with a full beard, lots of tats, lots of muscles loading his stuff into a lifted 4x4 and he sees the guy, reaches into his pocket and pulls out a money clip and says to the guy "Hey, brother..." and the homeless dude spins around and starts shuffling back ... with purpose now because he sees the money clip.


When the Homeless guy got about 6 feet from the kid he asks the homeless guy "So, brother, what was your MOS?"


Homeless guy stops cold, confused look on his face (like this kid was speaking German or something). Says "My what?"


Kid says (slower and more deliberately this time) "What was your MOS?"


Bum is still confused and says "I don't know"


Kid stuffs the money clip back into his pocket and says "Man, get the fuck out of here! And lose the sign because if I catch you pretending to be a vet again I'll fuckin' feed it to you."

That's when I noticed the giant globe and anchor on the rear window of his truck.




Anyway, I thought it was funny ... and I learned how to deal with homeless "vets".

Could of been he wasn't Army or Marines (MOS)
Might have been Air Force (AFSC) or Navy (NEC) and truly was confused.
Homelessness, despair, and futility can make you ignorant

[BushMasterBoy]

Just ask for a VA ID card. They give them out for free with verification. I never heard of MOS until friend of mine joined the Army. I had an AFSC, I never ever heard anybody in the Air Force talk about an MOS. My AFSC code doesn't even exist anymore. If I am panhandled, I usually ask where were you stationed and have a decent conversation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_Force_Specialty_Code

What do you think of this hymn?

[def90]

Even if you asked for an MOS and they responded, unless you were in the military would you even know if they gave you a correct response?

[Martinjmpr]

Life imitates The Duffel Blog:

Homeless Vietnam Veteran So Traumatized By War, Can’t Remember Unit, Military Terms

“It was definitely rough when I came home from the war in 1978,” says Richard McAdams, a veteran who served in the Marines during the Vietnam war. “I got off the plane and they were spitting on me and calling me baby-killer.”

McAdams says he served in Vietnam from 1969 to 1978, although the war officially ended three years prior.



“Well I don’t exactly remember the year,” he says, “but I know that it was really hell over there, especially when the Chosin was so freezing cold. My friend Billy actually lost his fingers to frostbite.”

McAdams is of course referring to the Chosin Reservoir, the location of the famous 1950 breakout by Marines of the 1st Marine Division during the Korean War, when McAdams was only one year old.

Korea is about 1800 miles away from Vietnam.

[ChickNorris]

As I understand it (explained to me once), inquiries about someone's 'Rate or Rating' would also apply if their Service was with another branch & letters or a title, not necessarily just numbers would have been the appropriate response. This is not the same as the E...

Though, I was also told that MOS has become a common vernacular most generally recognize if they were in the Military since/after Vietnam.

Curious if the above info is accurate. Lmk if I have it wrong. Thanks.

[Gman]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United...ccupation_code

[CS1983]

Yeah, I dunno. I’ve been working around AF folks now since 2016, and I still have no idea what they do, how they designate it, or their bass ackwards enlisted rank system. At least I recognize the officer’s ranks.

If the guy was navy or AF, “MOS” would have been a foreign term to him as much the gobbledygook I hear from the Air Force folks every day at work.

[.455_Hunter]

The average Vietnam Vet (let's say 20 years old in 1970) would have been 40 when I was 14. One of my friends Dad was pretty messed-up. I laugh hard when I see guys my age, or just a bit older, rocking the "Vietnam Veteran" hat and "woe is me" act- such a scam.

I got busted by a Navy O1 wearing the white short sleeve dress shirt with the shoulderboards- "Aren't you supposed to salute an Officer?" At that time, 99.9% of my exposure had been to Army personnel, so my response was genuine- "Sorry Sir, I didn't recognize your rank".

In the OP's story, I would say it's probably 90% likely the bum was a scammer and 10% he was NAVY/AF.

[XJ]

There is a reason the guy is begging in the Lowes parking lot instead of getting actual care at VA. Either a scammer or druggie, and likely to be both.


I don't care what a beggar claims, they get nothing. Props like dogs, musical instruments, or children just piss me off even more.