I know a certain group of very patriotic young lasses from the United Kingdom who share our sentiment in wishing you well on this sixth Armed Forces Day!
Thank you to the Hot Shots Calendar models for doing so much for Allied morale!
Tags: Hot Shots Calendar
Did I read that correctly, sixth armed forces day? Fuck I though our veterans were unappreciated.
Unfortunately, yes, you read that right. No one here cares.
Well, that sucks. But many of us here appreciate the UK military and all they have sacrificed. I’ll drink one for you all today! Cheers!
I thought the same thing, over by Tickville.
Looks like Camp Williams, UT
it’s not.
Someone once said “People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.”. Who said it first and who the quote is attributed to are unimportant.
The fact that today is only the sixth day of it’s kind in honor of those men and all who served is absolutely appalling.
Shit I’m an American, I don’t much care for my government, or the state in which my nation resides. But god damned if you don’t appreciate the sacrifices made by better men than your self we are going to have a discrepancy. These men and women decided to embark on a dangerous career path in which the pay isn’t even close to justifiable for the risk. Today is day where “Thank you for service” isn’t enough. Buy someone a beer, a meal, make someones day because that motherfucker put everyone else before themselves in service of their country.
I wouldn’t say no one cares, it’s just that Ops TELIC and HERRICK have dominated the media portrayal of the Armed Forces, ergo peoples’ perception of them. Also, it’s a different culture here than in the US – I wouldn’t say less patriotic, but our military isn’t festooned so ardently with patriotism.
When I’ve been commuting/travelling in uniform or dress people still smile and nod in acknowledgment at me, still get wide eyed kids and giggling gaggles of girls, so I’d say we are perhaps underappreciated, but definitely not unappreciated.
By the way, Armed Forces Day began as Veterans’ Day in 2006 (itself an extension of Veterans’ Awareness Week 2005)
Fair points.
I guess that personal experiences differ, but I can only think of one situation where a member of the public extended any sort of gesture of appreciation towards me (obviously we don’t expect or demand such attention).
I’ll attend next year as a veteran, and see if there’s any difference, especially bearing in mind that HM Armed Forces should be a post-Afghanistan organisation by then.
cyprus?
Doesn’t England observe Remembrance Day?
Rememberance Day has always been about commemorating those who gave their lives in conflicts past and present, whereas Veterans’ Day/Armed Forces Day is about commemorating those who are serving and retired, and also raising awareness of veterans’ issues in the UK.
The UK *is* improving, but in terms of how the military are treated by the wider public/private sector, the US is leaps and bounds ahead of us. Thats not to say that I would like people to slap me on the back and shake my hand every time I have to walk through a train station in uniform – thats not why I joined up, and I’d rather just crack on with the job quietly.
Shit, nowadays, most people dont travel anywhere in uniform (myself included) because its just too fucking dangerous; some places you’ll get abuse, others you’ll get your head kicked in. The threat of lone attackers is still there, and if anything, its increasing with the guys coming back from the FSA/ISIS groups.
I echo what Toby said – you generally will get the flirty women and the kids asking mummy about “The army man”. But you also get people staring at you like you’ve sprouted a second head because you’re in a uniform.
You’ll ALWAYS get certain elements of society scowling at you because “You’re one of them” – A woman gave me a very hard time on a train once, asking why I wanted to kill innocent people, implying that I wasnt intelligent enough to do anything else, until I informed her I was a degree graduate and I currently worked alongside Search & Rescue, which completely threw her, much to the ammusement of my fellow passengers.
But other things do grip my sh*t which are relatively minor – lots of retail chains still offer Student Discount but dont give any form of military discount. 10% off a pair of cinema tickets isnt much, but if students are getting it, why arent we?
I didnt join for people to say “Well done lad” all the time and give me free shit. I joined because of a deep desire to challenge myself and to do my little bit for the UK. That said, small perks are always appreciated. I’d caveat the above to say that its not just us – I doubt the Fire & Rescue, Police or Ambulance guys get half the perks we get, so I’d rather see them get something back as well.