If you were put in front of a police lineup, could you pick out the person who had served in the military? What about in a random crowd on a Friday night?

Well, if that’s something you want or need to do, listen up – these people are ready to dish on how they think you can tell.

Awkward.

When you ask for a veteran discount at the barber shop.

I have my account at Lowe’s set to automatically use my discount. Same with Home Depot (have to use the app).

That said, I’ve gotten discounts for my license plates, my state parks pass, and a bunch of others. Why not?

I got free admission into a botanical gardens in Miami that was set to close in an hour. Sorry, not going to spend full price for an hour walk.

I also get free admission into National Parks.

Everytime I get a Vet discount, I tell my wife: I served 7 years of my life to save $22 at Lowes!

It’s a delicate balance.

I’ve noticed myself and a lot of my friends can simultaneously sleep through anything while also being able to wake up instantly if we hear a sound we don’t like, no matter how faint. You want to watch tv or listen to music while I sleep? Go for it.

But if my dog does a pee whine or I hear a car door close in my driveway, I’m up immediately.

That’s just getting old.

Knees and back are f**king ruined.

“Anyone else hear a ringing sound?”

All of the pockets.

I did 23 years, the only thing that gives me away is my affinity for cargo shorts.

It’s kind of a lot.

They won’t stop using acronyms that literally nobody else understands.

We hired a new supervisor at my job who had just gotten out of the Air Force. His first email he sent out en masse started with a BLUF that was longer than the email itself. Also, nobody knew what BLUF was which just added to the confusion.

He also signs all his emails V/r which isn’t as bad but still adds to it.

Not a good thing.

Maybe kinda specific but my dad was in the Navy for 30 years. Once my mum bought those little fountains like for ambience noise and put it in the living room.

My dad hated it because he couldn’t stand the sound of it. He said that if he was indoors and could hear water flowing that wasn’t a good thing. He was in charge of control failure in ships.

A lot of his friends said they felt the same way.

Two options.

I’ve noticed two options for people that have went overseas to fight I’ve met

Either A: within ten minutes of meeting them they’ve told you which war they were in, the horrors they saw, the people they killed, etc

Or B: you know them casually for months or years and never know that they were even in the military until someone else tells you

They don’t like it.

Hating when people thank them for their service.

I used to thank people for their service, because that was the example my dad set for me. Then I saw how uncomfortable it made a friend in the army feel when strangers did it to him, and I stopped.

One or the other.

Father in law: never saw combat at all, never left the states actually, ‘75-‘79. Uses the VA system for every little thing, constantly blaming every medical ailment her has on his service (aircraft hydraulics), for more and more disability payments. Pick up truck has half a dozen “bad ass” marines decals.

My father will not talk about the s**t he went thru from ‘69 thru ‘73.

A sad state of affairs.

Being divorced before 25.

“If the Army wanted me to have a wife, they would have issued me one.” -my divorced veteran friend. Sounded like a often-repeated refrain when he said it.

Dead giveaways, both.

Saying we barely made it when you are a half hour early

Cargo pants

If you’re not early you’re late.

Telling someone at 0857 “You’re late” for a 0900 meeting.

One of my American friends was an Army sergeant. The time thing was a big problem.

Also…

All of the ex-military I worked with are incredibly sensible. They want to get from point A to point B as quickly and efficiently as possible. I really like having ex-military on my work teams. They also tend not to mince words so there is no room for misinterpretation when communicating, which I find refreshing.

They also tell filthy jokes.

There might not be time later.

Scarfing down any food very quickly.

This is an out for first responders, too.

There’s always that one commercial that has a sound that’s close to the start of those tones and you get that “sonofabitch” feeling, then guarded relief as you continue crushing whatever you found you eat.

I’ll take that over waking up in tones. At least with food you can (sometimes) carry it with you and get a few bites in. Can’t bring sleep with.

Complete indifference.

If the food doesn’t disappear in seconds it was either really really good or really bad.

Almost complete indifference to insane upper management antics.

I don’t know if these are true but they sound good.

Maybe someone who has been in the military can weigh in.