4 Reasons Why Being a Veteran is Awesome
1. You don’t panic over dumb shit.
If there’s one thing you learned in the service, it’s that nothing gets done faster or more efficiently just because someone is losing their mind over it. A toilet is overflowing in your bathroom, no big deal, buy some bleach and a mop. Fix the toilet. You’re a freaking veteran.
As you enter the civilian workforce, you’ll notice tons of people running around with their hair on fire. They’ll be unpleasant to work with because they’re stressing out so much, and that’s no good for anybody.
2. You don’t give excuses.
To be fair, I know a fair few vets that never figured this out. If you messed up, don’t try to shift the blame somewhere else. It helps no one and the person that’s pissed at you is likely going to think you’re a flake. Most of us were late to quarters or muster at least once. Do you remember the person you were meant to report to being particularly forgiving because traffic was backed up at the gate, or your cat got loose that morning?
Most vets know: that BS don’t fly.
3. You have life experience that nobody else can match.
If you’re getting out of the military at 22 years old, there are a million things you might have seen. You’ve likely seen the world, you’ve learned the value of a hard day’s work, you might even have seen combat. This gives you a huge leg up over the typical fresh-faced college senior, most of whom have never been on their own before.
It might be tough to relate, but remember to be humble. Nobody likes taking classes with that one guy who begins every class-interrupting “question” with “When I was in the military…”
4. You’ve had actual responsibility.
For the Navy especially, some of the equipment you’ve likely been responsible for cost millions of dollars. While this seems a bit ordinary to you (you just spent years doing it, right?), to an employer or to your civilian counterparts this is a pretty amazing concept. Remember that aside from a select few jobs for younger people, the highest-priced item they’ve laid their hands on was their own smartphone, or perhaps a school computer. The concept that you were responsible for gear that detected Russian fighter jets and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to develop might be bewildering to them.
Once again, keep a good head on your shoulders about it. You didn’t develop AEGIS, you just operated it, but still, that’s pretty damn cool.
Being a veteran is pretty badass, right? Show your veteran pride with one of Navy Crow’s veteran-themed beer steins! Showcasing some of our most popular designs, like the Oathkeeper and US Veteran logos, every single one of these is a righteous pass to the halls of badassery that your civilian friends will envy!
