Does it bother you to hear "Thank you for your service!"?

Absolutely! It's always gratifying and humbling to be thanked for my years of service to the Nation!

When I go to the VA and this is said to me, I can appreciate it and understand. However, when someone on the street says it to me and it is clear that this person has never served, it drives me nuts. I think to myself, "If that is the way you feel about us, why didn't (haven't) you served?"

On the otherhand it is nice to get the acknowlegement and is better than nothing when someone does know that you are a veteran.

I respond "I was glad for the chance and I would do it again".

I used to feel uncomfortable, and wished they wouldn't. I also didn't feel like I did anything that special. I agreed to serve my country. Once enlisted it became my only job, something I agreed to do, to the best of my ability no matter what. But most people had a job. It took me years to see that my commitment, dedication, and training is totally different from most in the civilian sector. People take two sick days a month because they see it as a benefit... Leave when their time is up, not the job is done.... What is that?
I'm shocked at the continuous lack of leadership and lack of respect for leadership that I see. I now feel blessed to have served and realize I was a part of something amazing with incredible people. I was Injured and would give anything to have my body back. At a glance no one can tell that I'm not capable of many things I assumed I'd be doing for 40 more years. I realize when they honor my service they are recognizing that they do not understand what I just said in a way that all of you do. I thank you for the years you served in our military. I am sure you have plenty more to offer this fine county because your military service says magnitudes about who you were and are.

i understand that the military has come a long way up in the public's opinion and i appreciate the thanks i get, but it also makes me feel a little awkward as i don't know how to respond with anything other than a "you're welcome"

It always feels weird. I never did it for thanks. I really don't feel I deserve thanks. I saw so many Soldiers do and give more than I did. I really want to be thanked by letting me go about my day normally. The thank you just reminds me of all the things I feel I should have done better for my troops overseas. I always take the thanks and thank them for their consideration because there have been and are so many who will never get the thanks they deserve.

SPC Larry Buck For those who have never served, maybe "Thanks for your service." is all they know to say. Hard to expect more, IMHO. I enlisted in the Reserves in 1980 while in college. Wearing my ROTC uniform or my Reserve uniform on campus elicited a far different response. Getting spit upon was a weekly thing. Once commissioned, things really did not change outside the installations.
It was well-past 911 before I was ever thanked in public. Not that it was ever necessary for me to be thanked. I just think our nation started to become more aware of what servicemen and women were doing. It does not bother me to thank or be thanked. When I offer a "thank you", I do so knowing some of what that person has given to wear our nation's colors. At the least, I can offer a statement of awareness and gratitude.
Do I think veterans should be approached to continue service? Yes, sir I do! That is a wealth of knowledge that could be tapped and used. I hope you find a way to continue your contributions, SPC Larry Buck! Wish you well, brother.

I don't find it offensive, but - cynically, perhaps - all too often I find the comment coming almost automatically from folks who often have no idea what it is like to serve, but who have been told that it is what they are supposed to say. Coming up on fifty years since I originally enlisted, I guess there is a tinge of bitterness at how long it has taken and how hollow the words often seem to ring.

Perhaps you are looking at it through a broken or damaged lens. While watered down since 9/11, I think the phrase is generally and genuinely used to appreciate what you sacrificed for the nation, whether you hung up your uniform or not. As such, I usually respond with a "Thank you for your support", as I choose to look at the phrase through rose colored lenses.

I do my best when ever I am thanked for my service to respond by thanking them for their support and to tell them that I appreciate it. It is a two way street.