Thanks for Coming

Wars are not over when the shooting stops
--Max Cleland
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We used to have two classes of medals in the Army:

1. Thanks for Coming
2. I Been There

That's the cut, pure and simple, that separates all of us from all of them. So what are people saying when they say, "Thanks for your service"? Do they mean:

• Thanks for giving up your youth?
• Thanks for doing what I didn't want to do, couldn't so, or felt best avoiding doing?
• Thanks for serving since this relieved my son from doing so?
• Thanks for . . .

What Ranger really desires is for people to stop laying this crap on my ears. It's rather tiresome and feels as unsatisfying as a wet dream. Of course, if that's all you've got . . .