The Entitled Veteran

Howdy Y'all!

I finally made it to Texas and am getting settled into civilian life. During my travels and encounters over the past few weeks, I have inherited an interesting opinion; collectively, United States Armed Forces veterans have a huge sense of entitlement.

Now, let me start with a few recollections of personal encounters that helped me arrive at this conclusion.

When I left Vermont with a U-Haul full of furniture and junk that I accumulated over the last 14 and a half years, I was worried that my trip to Texas was going to be extremely stressful and laborious. It turned out to be quite the opposite, and only because I am a military veteran.

The first break I got due to my military service came from a toll booth attendant in New Hampshire. He saw my ridiculous haircut and then looked toward the back of my U-Haul which was also towing one of my vehicles. He said, "You in the military, son?" I answered, "Yes, Sir." He then asked, "What branch?' I proudly told him I was a Marine. Of course, he then proceeded to tell me he was in the Corps and served in Vietnam and said "Semper Fi, Devil Dog! Carry on." I was a bit a confused until the car behind me started honking. He again looked at me and said, "Carry on, Marine. Don't worry about the toll." I was dumbfounded. If you're from the Northeast or New England, you know that Friday December 13th was a cold and snowy day and would not have been the ideal day to start your PCS (Permanent Change of Station) from Jarheadville to 1st Civ Div (Civilian Division). The act of kindness alone was enough to warm my heart, but the fact that I had three axles and faced a potential toll fee of $18 made it even more astonishing.  Good start to a trip that had me anxiety ridden from the time I found out I was to be medically discharged from the Corps.

I could go on and bore you with several more stories of the same flavor, some less astounding, and several that would even bring a tear to the Executive Director of Code Pink. In summary, let's just say I got discounts on meals, hotels, and even had a trucker insist on paying for my gas at one stop in Virginia. This is nothing new, as I have received acts of kindness from civilians, both here and abroad, since I joined the Corps back in 1999. The only difference here is that so many "random acts of kindness" happened to me within a four day period and at several different geographic locations throughout our country, and only because I am a military veteran. I've never heard of anybody thanking a teacher for his or her service to our nation, or even a citizen who obeys the law and pays their taxes on time and without fraudulent claims. They are just as much an asset to this nation, if not more, than us veterans who are well compensated for our service.

I don't want to lose your attention, but my point here is this; veterans don't hold the monopoly on "service." Yet, many of us think we do and that we should be given even more benefits and monetary compensation than we already receive. Are you truly a patriot or a selfless servant of your nation if you refuse to give up just a few of the goodies during such difficult economic times? I think not.

Within the last couple of years, the services tried to suspend tuition assistance for active duty members, which was met with fierce opposition. Really guys? You couldn't just use your extremely generous Post 9/11 G.I. Bill to attend classes? Come on! The military and veteran community sounded very similar to current protest attempting to raise the minimum wage for menial work to exorbitant levels.

Fellow vets, as well as guys and gals still on active duty, please don't forget how well we are truly compensated. We may put up with a lot of BS and sacrifice very much during our time in service, but we were all volunteers. I'm not saying don't speak out against bad leadership and horrible policies, but don't just sound the horn when some of the unnecessary perks need to be cut back for a while.

Lastly, I want to mention all of the nonprofit organizations out there that add an extra layer of bennies for vets. The Wounded Warrior Project, The Semper Fi Fund, Lone-Star Veterans, Soldiers' Angels,
and Able Forces are just a few (the ones that have helped me out during my transition). Veterans have so many options for help if they need it. "Normal" people don't have such easy access to as many helpful organizations, nor do they get such amazing benefits from their employers.

So Vets, next time you find yourself fighting for more benefits or monetary compensation, think back to all that you have received and/or have access to because you are a veteran. And then, refocus that energy into fighting for things that would be way more useful to our military, such as less bureaucracy on the battlefield, a more conducive system for enlisted members to "speak truth to power," and better training at all levels to reduce deadly battlefield mishaps and increase unit efficiency.

Until next time, stay conscience my friends.

Semper Fi,
Chris Bentley