These 30 Responses To U.S. Army Asking ‘How Has Serving Impacted You?’ Was Not What They Were Expecting To Hear
Memorial Day weekend is meant to be a time of reflection to honor the Americans who have served, so two days before the weekend the U.S. Army reached out to veterans via Twitter to ask them to share how their service had impacted their lives – and it’s easy to say it backfired.
The innocent tweet was intended to stir up stories of patriotic pride, and while some did share positive experiences about how their time gave them self-confidence, an overwhelming amount shared dark and heartbreaking tales. The stories came from both veterans themselves and people who had met or were the family of service men and women. Tales ranged from vets who had returned with debilitating posttraumatic stress disorder, to those who had ended up committing suicide.
According to reports from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, about 30% of Vietnam veterans, 12% of Gulf War veterans and 11% to 20% of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom veterans are living with post-traumatic stress disorder. As for suicide rates the numbers are disproportionately affecting vets, with more than 6,000 veterans dying by suicide between 2008 to 2016 and an average of 20 veterans dying by suicide each day between 2013 and 2014.
The U.S Army reached out to vets on Twitter to ask how their service had impacted their lives
Image credits: USArmy
But instead of just patriotic pride, they received a thread of heartbreaking responses
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This should be number one. It’s not just about the trauma these people face but rather the fact that it’s all based on greed, corruption, lies, and hatred of the American people at large, and anyone who isn’t in the ruling class.
Two years ago President Donald Trump tweeted “will not accept or allow transgender individuals to serve in any capacity,” and this year the policy has gone into effect. Lt. Col. Carla M. Gleason, a Pentagon spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News, that it was not a ban but that “new recruits will be rejected if they’ve undergone a gender transition, that they cannot transition while in service, and they must conform to the uniform and fitness standards of their birth sex.” The estimated number of trans people serving in the military ranged from 2,150 to 15,000.
First they experience war on the outside, then war on the inside. It all leaves scars. We need to talk more about this</3
One out of three veterans seeking treatment for substance abuse, including alcohol use disorder, have PTSD. Overall about three-quarters of people who have survived abuse or violent trauma report that they struggle with alcohol abuse. People who struggle with PTSD and chronic pain struggle more frequently with alcohol abuse.
"You guys sent him back in a box" is literally the most heartbreaking thing ever
A study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration revealed that only 50 percent of returning vets who need veteran mental health treatment will receive these services. Both active duty service members and veterans face barriers to treatment for mental health issues: Personal embarrassment about service-related mental disabilities, long wait times to receive mental health treatment, shame over needing to seek mental health treatment, fear of being seen as weak, Stigma associated with mental health issues, a lack of understanding or lack of awareness about mental health problems and treatment options, logistical problems, such as long travel distances in order to receive this type of care, concerns over the veteran mental health treatment offered by the VA, demographic barriers and false perceptions based on these demographics such as age or gender.
"😭" doesn't cut it. I died a little inside thinking of these two brothers. One dead, one the closest thing to death that isnt, because of military duty. A family ruined. What hit me hardest was "I don't know where he is or if he's still alive." I have two siblings and can't imagine anything like this, but I'm sure that they couldn't either, until it actually happened
From 1961 to 1971, the U.S. sprayed more than 20 million gallons of various herbicides over Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and according to the EPA, Agent Orange, which contains the poisonous chemical dioxin, was the most commonly used. An estimated 2.8 million U.S. vets who were exposed to Agent Orange while on-duty later died.
Almost every conflict that we’ve ever been involved in has been for the express benefit of imperialist scum. It’s never been about protecting America.
Hold on a minute, your grandmother knocked out your uncle with a frying pan?
Jesus, that's so heartbreaking even to read... what the person is experiencing and is really living with all this is unimaginable for me. I have no words to say! :(
A veteran describing how his life has fallen apart telling people to love one another. He's showing more courage then tangerine turd could ever even dream off.
“Some folks are born Made to wave the flag Ooh, they're red, white and blue And when the band plays "Hail to the Chief" Ooh, they point the cannon at you It ain't me, it ain't me I ain't no senator's son, son It ain't me, it ain't me I ain't no fortunate one, no”
My grandfather on my dad's side did not serve, but he grew up in a WWII-era Taiwan occupied by the Japanese. As he aged, he got dementia, and even though he loved everything Japan- Japanese was his preferred language- he hated the bombs. Planes would fly over our house and he would cry and tell us that "they" were coming and they were going to bomb us and he needed to save us. I was four years old and I didn't understand. I laughed and told him they were just jets. Then one day a couple years ago my sister reminded me of those days and I was just like "Holy frick oh my god I get it now." But my Akong is long dead and there is nothing I could do anymore. By the time I could do something, I cpuldnt. Goes to show, you don't have to serve. War is scarring all around. It may benefit the state but it destroys the individual.
I’m really sorry. Going into any type of military services can be scarring
Funny thing about the military is that contracts are only allowed to be broken by the military...
My brother served in VietNam as a Marine Scout/Sniper. On his return home, he was afraid to sleep in-doors. He slept in our back yard for months. (Always with a rifle). He tried really hard to adjust; he married, they had a baby, he had a good job. But as a year passed, he drank and smoked and God knows what else and the gradual change in him sped up. He was killed in a motorcycle/vehicle accident in 1972 and our little family, his little family were and continue to be just wrecked. People, please understand these Vets need so much help after their service because all governments only use them as cannon fodder. They were never expected to come home alive. The U.S. Government still thinks of them as expendables and they always will.
What did they expect when they put up this question, lovely tales of the great happy militairy?
They expected, "Wow, the military was a great experience and changed my life! Taught me about respect & honor! Thank you!" But seriously that's never the case when they're seen as numbers and not people by those who put them into war.
They never expected to get called out on the way they are treating veterans. But that's normal for all armies around the world. Every person they send into a war is just a numbered asset. Disposable and replaceable. And how cruel it may sound: Sometimes it seems they prefer their assets coming home in boxes. Saves them the trouble of pretending to care for veterans.
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Did you even read this?Apparently you didn't.Most of these stories are of soldiers who end up killing themselves from ptsd.That needs to be fixed.
They were protecting our country? Really? When have we ever have foreign troops on our soil? It's it US that are the foreign troops on foreign soil. We remove Leaders of other countries and leave those countries to crumble in the vacuum. I believe world peace is possible and that there really is enuf for everyone.
I think that would start by removing your own leaders. They're doing it with the vote of the public. The public have to take off the rose coloured glasses and stop voting for them.
There never was a bogyman, There never was a chance the domino effect in South East Asia, we didn't have to intervene in any war unless there was a specific economic boost for some white men in DC.
Would you rather we left Al Queda and the Taliban to their own devices and freedom?
Al Qaeeda and the Tellytubbies were as a direct result of wars in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and then illegal wars in Iraq, and the support of a dictator in Iran. Then enter an overthrow of Libya and an intervention in Syria. It is no good creating a problem and then throwing young men to die to "resolve" it.
There wouldn't be any if WE hadn't screwed everything up in the Mid-east. Saddam Hussein would have taken care of them as well as Iran.
Excuse me but can you imagine the french/german/british army decide to come in USA to "save" you from that asshole called Mr President ? I don't think so.
I served 4 tours in Afganistan, Somalia, and 2 in Iraq as an Army Ranger. I believe that people who enlisted went through because they wanted to serve. Why else would they join? They were assigned to go on a tour somewhere because that is what they signed up to do. While doing the process, they would have read the terms and contracts and they knew the risks. With the living veterans, all we can do is offer support, and with the deceased, all we can do is remember what they sacrificed, thank them for their lives and our freedom.
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Tracee Jeen, perhaps you need a history lesson.
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Without American intervention the Middle East would have annihilated the enter globe long ago. A simple “your welcome” is all the military asks for.
Ok Ben, I would ask you to take a step back and just observe your words. Do they really come from you? Do you honestly think that these military manoeuvres are legitimate? If you'd like to cast your mind to the war in Iraq, you'll see that the intervention actually sent things out of control. I know it might be hard to believe that your own government is lying to you to get money and funding etc, every country's army and government is. It's normal people like you and me, on the ground that bear the brunt and become cannon fodder. Do you personally really support and believe in war for the sake of what's been going on
While we ought to be grateful for people who decide to defend their country, there is nothing to glorify about it. Maybe some return from war as heros, but for me the greatest heros are those who care for people returning traumatised from war.
defend their country (usa) from WHOM exactly?
I believe Hans was talking in general, and, as someone who was born at the very fall of Yugoslavia I agree. The war should have never happened, but it did, and I'm grateful for those people who worked hard to put an end to it, be it soldiers, be it activists, be it diplomats, be it politicians. The prime role of a military should be to prevent wars, not fighting them. As for the people who came back as "heroes", no, they don't think themselves as heroes. And It's not because they're humble, it's because they're damaged.
I don't know about the US army but here in Canada the Forces help civilians during natural disasters. An army is not only there protecting people from other armies. They are there to serve in time of crisis, whatever this crisis is.
I did not refer to a specific country or war. These are politics. But the world is too bad for not reason to exist that countries merely need to defend their population.
I worked for Raytheon , designing missile guidance circuits. Our missiles were meant to provide a retaliation capability stronger than any offensive the Russians could mount. Whether that's what did it or not we may never know but it's very likely. It's expensive but so much better than getting embroiled in a no-solution, endless mess like the middle east which should destroy any lingering faith in the ability of our leaders to do anything right outside the country, much less in. The British and French got bogged down in the Mideast and found there would never be a victory. They love to keep fighting there. So we were going to show them a thing or two. And we haven't even done as well. Never send a businessman ( who thinks he is smarter than everyone else ) to run ANYTHING except a business. They're not all that good at that either
Canadians, but only during winter. The northernmost states have nothing to fear. We'll just be passing through.
We need to ALWAYS help those who serve rise higher. YOU, I'm sure, never would. Those who are family of veterans are doing what they should-loving those who left and came back, and that's the most any of us can do.
What did they expect when they put up this question, lovely tales of the great happy militairy?
They expected, "Wow, the military was a great experience and changed my life! Taught me about respect & honor! Thank you!" But seriously that's never the case when they're seen as numbers and not people by those who put them into war.
They never expected to get called out on the way they are treating veterans. But that's normal for all armies around the world. Every person they send into a war is just a numbered asset. Disposable and replaceable. And how cruel it may sound: Sometimes it seems they prefer their assets coming home in boxes. Saves them the trouble of pretending to care for veterans.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Did you even read this?Apparently you didn't.Most of these stories are of soldiers who end up killing themselves from ptsd.That needs to be fixed.
They were protecting our country? Really? When have we ever have foreign troops on our soil? It's it US that are the foreign troops on foreign soil. We remove Leaders of other countries and leave those countries to crumble in the vacuum. I believe world peace is possible and that there really is enuf for everyone.
I think that would start by removing your own leaders. They're doing it with the vote of the public. The public have to take off the rose coloured glasses and stop voting for them.
There never was a bogyman, There never was a chance the domino effect in South East Asia, we didn't have to intervene in any war unless there was a specific economic boost for some white men in DC.
Would you rather we left Al Queda and the Taliban to their own devices and freedom?
Al Qaeeda and the Tellytubbies were as a direct result of wars in Afghanistan against the Soviets, and then illegal wars in Iraq, and the support of a dictator in Iran. Then enter an overthrow of Libya and an intervention in Syria. It is no good creating a problem and then throwing young men to die to "resolve" it.
There wouldn't be any if WE hadn't screwed everything up in the Mid-east. Saddam Hussein would have taken care of them as well as Iran.
Excuse me but can you imagine the french/german/british army decide to come in USA to "save" you from that asshole called Mr President ? I don't think so.
I served 4 tours in Afganistan, Somalia, and 2 in Iraq as an Army Ranger. I believe that people who enlisted went through because they wanted to serve. Why else would they join? They were assigned to go on a tour somewhere because that is what they signed up to do. While doing the process, they would have read the terms and contracts and they knew the risks. With the living veterans, all we can do is offer support, and with the deceased, all we can do is remember what they sacrificed, thank them for their lives and our freedom.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Tracee Jeen, perhaps you need a history lesson.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
Without American intervention the Middle East would have annihilated the enter globe long ago. A simple “your welcome” is all the military asks for.
Ok Ben, I would ask you to take a step back and just observe your words. Do they really come from you? Do you honestly think that these military manoeuvres are legitimate? If you'd like to cast your mind to the war in Iraq, you'll see that the intervention actually sent things out of control. I know it might be hard to believe that your own government is lying to you to get money and funding etc, every country's army and government is. It's normal people like you and me, on the ground that bear the brunt and become cannon fodder. Do you personally really support and believe in war for the sake of what's been going on
While we ought to be grateful for people who decide to defend their country, there is nothing to glorify about it. Maybe some return from war as heros, but for me the greatest heros are those who care for people returning traumatised from war.
defend their country (usa) from WHOM exactly?
I believe Hans was talking in general, and, as someone who was born at the very fall of Yugoslavia I agree. The war should have never happened, but it did, and I'm grateful for those people who worked hard to put an end to it, be it soldiers, be it activists, be it diplomats, be it politicians. The prime role of a military should be to prevent wars, not fighting them. As for the people who came back as "heroes", no, they don't think themselves as heroes. And It's not because they're humble, it's because they're damaged.
I don't know about the US army but here in Canada the Forces help civilians during natural disasters. An army is not only there protecting people from other armies. They are there to serve in time of crisis, whatever this crisis is.
I did not refer to a specific country or war. These are politics. But the world is too bad for not reason to exist that countries merely need to defend their population.
I worked for Raytheon , designing missile guidance circuits. Our missiles were meant to provide a retaliation capability stronger than any offensive the Russians could mount. Whether that's what did it or not we may never know but it's very likely. It's expensive but so much better than getting embroiled in a no-solution, endless mess like the middle east which should destroy any lingering faith in the ability of our leaders to do anything right outside the country, much less in. The British and French got bogged down in the Mideast and found there would never be a victory. They love to keep fighting there. So we were going to show them a thing or two. And we haven't even done as well. Never send a businessman ( who thinks he is smarter than everyone else ) to run ANYTHING except a business. They're not all that good at that either
Canadians, but only during winter. The northernmost states have nothing to fear. We'll just be passing through.
We need to ALWAYS help those who serve rise higher. YOU, I'm sure, never would. Those who are family of veterans are doing what they should-loving those who left and came back, and that's the most any of us can do.