Veterans ‘Uncomfortable’ With ‘Thank You for Your Service,’ Ask for More Civilian Support This Veterans Day – By Tareq Haddad (Newsweek) / Nov 9 2019
Almost half of U.S. veterans and active service members feel uncomfortable with being thanked for their service, a new survey has revealed.
According to a poll commissioned by the Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a national not-for-profit network of mental health clinics for post-9/11 veterans and military families, 49 percent of active and former members of the armed services feel uneasy with the expression “Thank you for your service.”
It comes as 91 percent Americans used the expression, according to the survey, and as the country prepares to commemorate its former military service members on Monday for Veterans Day.
“I feel very uncomfortable when civilians say thank you for your service, because I don’t know what to say back,” said a veteran employed at a Cohen Clinic in Washington.
The poll found that instead of saying the simple thank you, most veterans and service members preferred gratitude that went beyond simple platitudes and that tried to connect with them on a more personal level.
Commenting on the survey, Dave Gowel, CEO of RallyPoint Networks, a digital platform for the military community, said: “What we’ve learned is if you’ve met one veteran, you’ve met one veteran. We are as diverse in our interests as are civilians. When it comes to being thanked for our service, this diversity still applies and you can’t make everyone happy.
Continue to article: https://www.newsweek.com/veterans-thank-you-service-veterans-day-support-1470776
A flower is laid on the names of fallen soldiers on the “Wall” of the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. during Veteran’s day weekend on November 12, 2018.
