I was going to title this column “Throwback Thursday” (an Internet trend whereby people post something on Thursday that recalls something from the past). That was because I read a couple of articles that made me think vet appreciation might be a thing of the past. However, my hope that our vets are actually appreciated by society isn’t something that should be a throwback item – MOAA has provided us with proof that our vets service is still looked highly upon.
Before I get to that though, I wanted to touch on the two things that had me wondering if military appreciation was becoming a throwback item. First, we had Sen. Mark Pryor telling an MSNBC reporter that he though his opponent, Tom Cotton, was displaying a sense of entitlement based on his serving tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan:
“I think that is part of this sense of entitlement that he gives off. It’s almost like, ‘I served my country, let me into the Senate.’ ”
Okay, he never served. And as military families reading this column can understand, there is a certain disconnect between the mil life and civilian life. So then, that makes this next article from Foreign Policy even worse than it seems because the author is a vet!
I’m not going to comment on the points, which are disputable (he writes that vets’ life experience is limited, but I think his mil life experience is limited and he didn’t get to see the full experiences of a life in the military). You can read “10 reasons why you shouldn’t hire a vet” for yourself and decide. (I invite readers to offer their thoughts on this column in the comments below: do you agree or disagree with the 10 points?)
Finally though, here is what makes me know that military appreciation is not a Throwback Thursday item:
MOAA has posted about a great opportunity for vets who have been deployed at any time since 2001. The phenomenal and beautiful Canyon Ranch spa and resort in Tucson is offering 5 days at their resort to selected vets who meet the criteria. You can read about it on the MOAA Message Center blog.
But hurry, the deadline to apply is October 1.
So there, vets are appreciated for their efforts. Now if we can get Congress to appreciate them in terms of pay and benefits…