Posted on Nov 17, 2013
Disrespect of Civilians and Veterans by Service members
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I have seen a lot of posts about the disrespect towards Veterans and those currently serving by Civilians. <br><br>My question is what about disrespect towards civilians ( and sometimes even veterans) by active duty service members.<br><br>Luckily I have not witnessed a lot towards Veterans, but I have seen quite a bit towards civilians. I think the lack of understanding of the military life entails, and what can and often does happen during deployments can cause a bit of cynicism and even resentment in the military population.<br><br>Do you think this is ok, deserved, justifiable? How do you stop it? Should it be stopped? CAN it be stopped? Have you never witnessed what I am talking about and think I am full of it? <br>
Posted in these groups: 
Disrespect
Civilians
Disrespect Civilians
Posted 12 y ago
Responses: 16
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as a veteran when I came back from viet nam I reall got shun and was hard to find a job or even make new friends
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SSG Mark Ives
I joined in '78 and negative feelings towards soldiers was still evident. I was at JFK airport in '78 in my greens on my way over to Germany and some of the looks I got from people was repulsive. Problem is that many of those people who gave me those looks have grandkids in the service & have the yellow ribbons on their vehicles. Hypocrites?! Maybe, times change, hopefully people do too!
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Capt Jeff S.
I joined in Feb '79 and the feeling of hostility toward the military was still strong. Vietnam was still fresh in people's minds. Basically the attitude was that the military was not a "real" job and that anyone with any brains would go on to college and get their education so they could make real money doing real work -- as opposed to running around the woods playing soldier...
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I would just like to say I really think that those in the Army Civilian Corps should really be grateful they can get away with so much. I can't help to wonder how must of them are still employed. I have had so many issues with them that were bad they make me really question the whole system. Fort Benning is the worst. I have never been so disrespected in my life. The last thing I need is a civilian telling me that I don't know what I am talking about when I am actually a soldier and know their job better than them. I am getting all fired up now. I hate benning.
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CPT (Join to see)
Couldn't agree with you more Eric. The civilians I've had to deal with at Benning are horribly incompetent and at best act like dealing with a soldier is the worst thing in their life.
Honestly, I have no idea how some of them are still employed, if someone at my civilian job (private sector) had that same sort of inefficiency they would be fired immediately.
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SSG Trevor S.
Is this a school area mentality? Some people can get jaded after seeing so many people filter through the same processes over and over, while they do their job without rotating out. This can cause them to see a huge variety of situations and develop the attitude that they have "seen it all". It might be a good policy to rotate civilian personnel to other jobs to break them out of their comfort zone.
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SSG Mike Angelo
2Lts Eric and Robert. Off topic...One of the best kept secrets about Ft. Benning lies over the Chattahoochee River on the Alabama side.
Civilian managed by retired NCOs... Visiting the US Army recreation outpost there may provide some enlightenment and well deserve RnR.
Place marks the Trail of Tears where Native Americans thought that was the promised land, yet they were disappointed that their journey to Florida was not over. Many died there.
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There is always going to be people that disrespect others at some time or another, but it is a small percentage when it comes to the overall population on any military installation and the surrounding communities.
With said, the best thing that anyone could or can do is attempt to de-escalate any confrontation or situation, and avoid making it worse by being confrontational with the person who is aggressive in the situation. Sometimes if may be deserved, but in most cases disrespect to anyone, whether it be SM, veteran or civilian should never be acceptable or condoned.
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SGT Chris Birkinbine Everyone has contempt for someone or something, and it's usually based on some isolated experience in our lives....it could be civilians, men, women, a race, a government, a country, an income group...whatever it is really doesn't matter. The point is, when we have contempt for a group (in this case civilians or military) it is ALWAYS, without exception, irrational.
Best thing is to let it roll off. In my opinion this is one of the few things in life that if you ignore it, it will go away. Why? Because there is no argument in favor of the irrational, so for the rational, it's an automatic win.
Best thing is to let it roll off. In my opinion this is one of the few things in life that if you ignore it, it will go away. Why? Because there is no argument in favor of the irrational, so for the rational, it's an automatic win.
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As a junior enlisted, anytime I speak to another person (whether in or out of uniform), I always give the respect they deserve. I always thank other veterans and service members and when veterans thank me, I turn it around and ask them about their service because, right now, we have the world's attention and the Desert Storm, Vietnam, Korean, WWII and WWI veterans are slowly being forgotten. It is something that SM's need to take a sense of pride in.. Without them, there would be no us. They have paved the way for so many benefits that younger troops frequently forget.
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SPC (Join to see)
Thank you and, in my opinion, it's just like a police officer who thinks that they are above the law (most police officers don't think that way) but they have disconnected themselves from the public that they serve. We, as military, are public servants, we provide a service (FREEDOM) to our people in this great nation. I think we should have a deeply rooted sense of pride in what we have done in and out of uniform, but we should never put ourselves above a civilian who chose to not serve because we chose to. There have been plenty of times I walk away from a civilian thinking, "man this fool is an idiot," but I don't say it. I think it, keep my military bearing and drive on with my life. If people truly have pride in their country, their service and themselves they would be respectful and drive on.
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I believe that disrespect, toward military, DoD Civilians, Contractors, and civilians in general is a violation of our Army values.
Sometimes, our junior enlisted and NCOs act as if the world owes them everything. Guess what:
It was the WW2 Veterans who defeated the Nazis, not ours. Yes, I got it, you deployed, and you fought the Taliban, so did I. But that does not entitles us to being obnoxious and disrespectful.
Our NCOS and Officers need to do a better job teaching our Juniors the meaning of the Army values, especially Respect.
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SSG Mike Angelo
I observe a need for personal counseling between the Sergeant and Pvt Joe Snuffy. In the latter part of the 1970s, with the VOLAR, all volunteer army. NCOs power of influence was degraded when personal counseling was taken away.
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I would call it dissent channeling. I can deal with it better that way...and when I see it as fear of unknown; civilians to military and vise versa. Dissent and fear may go hand in hand. The term disrespect is negative interpretation, so I use a mental model (discipline) and move forward positively with it.
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I have not met many veterans in my life, though my stepfather and a few coworkers are. I had the unfortunate experience of dating a veteran who abused me physically and emotionally, to which point I am still attending counseling sessions to restore my mental health. I will admit that I ponder sometimes if ALL veterans' standards are like his. He's also a drinker and smokes pot, said he also did so in the military. He gets veteran's preference at his civilian job and acts entirely professional. However, in private, he picks fights with others and once tried to make someone pick a fight on me. I could make a large laundry list of all the different insults he has said to me, and then there's the fact that he doesn't understand why I had low self-esteem. Would a fellow veteran even accept this kind of behavior??
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I have never been disrespected by a soldier, but if I was, i would put him in line. I am 50 now, and to many good men have worn the uniform to let someone make it look bad with attitude.
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I get this crap alot, I just had a few (last Night) chastise me for my views about the POTUS and was told its not fair that I can bad mouth him while they are not allowed to... NEWS FLASH!!!! I am a VET, I did my time and am now living as a civilian!!! I served this country just like everyone else so its people could live in a country of freedom which includes freedom of speech. I have been told I dont belong on this forum because i am a vet and no longer active duty, have the policies for this forum changed and its now only for active duty members??? If so show me the door and Ill gladly leave, if not Shut the fuck up and quit sniveling about your choice to stay in and not being able to have a potty mouth about your political thoughts, thats about as childish as it comes!! Grow a fucking pair!!!
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