Posted on Jul 19, 2017
Do military "nicknames" from civilians bother you?
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An American Legion friend of mine gets very upset when a non-vet civilian refers to a veteran by a service nickname, i.e. swabbie, squid, grunt, weekend warrior, puddle-jumper, fly-boy, etc. He tells them in no uncertain terms they have not earned the right to call veterans or service members anything but what they are. That the nicknames are a sign of military comradeship among the services.
Vietnam War
Military service
Civilians
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 44
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I have never experienced a time or occasion where I was called any nickname from a civilian but I know some brothers and sisters in arms that were called nicknames.
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Nope, doesn't phase me. Those are nicknames we were generally raised with. If it's said in a just a description.. fine, if they're making fun of the person with it, it may be a different issue
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I can only wish my life was so uncomplicated so devoid of meaningful things to do, goals to work towards that I had the time and energy to be concerned about such a trivial things as a civilian using a military nickname.
Thats not to say it cant be important to others, likely there are things that drive me nuts, others would feel are a waste of time. To each his own
Thats not to say it cant be important to others, likely there are things that drive me nuts, others would feel are a waste of time. To each his own
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PO2 Richard C.
I understand your point of view but respectfully disagree with it. It may be appropriate from your point of view to marginalize something like this but you fail to consider that what is trivial and a waste of time to you may be important or symptomatic for others. About 10 months after I posted the question, my friend became another Vietnam statistic by his own hand. I initially took a high degree of offense to your response, especially your final comment, then realized that would be unfair on my part since you did not have the other information. Now you do.
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SGM Erik Marquez
PO2 Richard C. -Post edited out of respect for your friend. It was a bit crass in any case.
Of note, everything I said was about me...I made no mention of others and there feelings about civilians using military jargon... What makes others happy or not is not my business.
My point in a less sarcastic way is...civilians using military jargon in no way catches my attention, peaks my interest, or an anyway affects me to the slightest.. They are just words... Thats me, to each his own....
Of note, everything I said was about me...I made no mention of others and there feelings about civilians using military jargon... What makes others happy or not is not my business.
My point in a less sarcastic way is...civilians using military jargon in no way catches my attention, peaks my interest, or an anyway affects me to the slightest.. They are just words... Thats me, to each his own....
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