Military discounts

Not all ID cards are alike. Some time ago the Army started putting "indefinite" on senior NCO cards instead of an expiration. I also have indefinite on a Navy retired ID card, but dependent cards do expire as do those of junior enlisted. What local businesses (like oil change places) do around here is allow you to show a DD 214 if you are a Vet and don't have an ID card anymore. I suppose that could be easily faked using electronic means though. Maybe a small discount might be a nice gesture but wouldn't open up a mad rush for people to fake DD 214s en masse.

And for all the swipes at some vets-- military is a lot like society, you got good ones and bad ones. The big difference is overall the population is young. I remember on a ship we had 600 of 1000 crew that were age 23 and younger at one point. Hence you can figure there is a lot of drinking and young and dumb mistakes in a population like that. On the other hand, launching helo's day after day with a group that young with very few accidents is amazing to me. I still scratch my head that more don't get hurt.

Seriously though being a veteran of a modern war isn't a good thing. There's nothing honourable or moral bout going to Iraq/Afghanistan/Vietnam. If you have your medals from WWII I'm all for a discount. Modern soldiers are sorta just mercenaries...

Im sure if I tried hard enough and leaned heavily on Howard Zinn's particular version of history I could draw parallels between now and ww2. That being said, while I can understand why you hold this opinion its accepted ignorance and nothing more.

I agree. I don't have a problem with the suggestion of a military discount and I'm pretty surprised by some of the comments people are making in this thread (Madent, I'm looking at you). I don't think anyone wants a discount for killing people, and there's nothing honorable about going to Iraq/Afghanistan/Vietnam, REALLY? To me, service is service, regardless of whether it's WWII, Vietnam, or whatever.

First time on the internets? Start a thread that says, "I think puppies are adorable" and see how many negative responses you get. Start a thread that says, "I like it when it's sunny and 70 outside". Same thing.

This is not true at all.

The state of VA does indeed have Military Veteran ID cards, most other states use the Driver's License with a Veteran Designation, additionally if you apply and get accepted by the VA you get a card.

If you don't any of that, you're either not a Veteran, got a crappy discharge and don't qualify, or didn't take the time to register for any of the three, or didn't know they existed.

Other than being non-constructive, your point IS?

.

Technically, a US based company owns EQ (Daybreak).
Here is the tree, that you are probably referring to, though:

EQ is owned by Daybreak.
Daybreak is owned by Columbus Nova a New York City based investment firm.
Columbus Nova is a holding of Russian holding group Renova.
Renova is owned by Viktor Vekselberg.
Viktor lives at his houses in Zurich. Switzerland and Moscow, Russia.

That is true. Not everyone does risk their lives. Admin peeps for one. And the military does have great benefits, when you're enlisted. Once you're out the VA is complete garbage. I have to drive 3 hours just to get to one even close and god forbid I'm in a serious situation because they wouldn't honor my 'benefits' at most places.

The pay is just bad. Unless you stay in for over 10 years or go through officer candidate schooling. Even as an E5 my pay was still garbage. Yea I get that some jobs shouldn't rate high end pay but for those of us who fought multiple times on the front lines you would think there would be some type of benefit for that. And before you say 'but you get tax free money', it isn't worth it. I've got a purple heart and multiple dead friends to get that 'tax free' money so not a very fair trade off.

I feel for those in the military as it is a harsh and unrewarding job, but it's not a noble profession, the actions of the US military globally are arguably a net negative. The purpose of the military isn't to maintain world peace (though it does to an extent), it's to maintain control for America and to exploit the resources of other countries. Joining the military does not make you a good person, you do not deserve special treatment, and if America fetishized its soldiers less it might be a good thing. The only reason to join the military (outside of liking that job which I find hard to imagine but sure) is if you are ignorant about the last 20-60 years of geopolitics, or are desperate and have no financial opportunities. The later is fairly common and perhaps pitiable but it doesn't make being a former soldier special or good. The whole thing is sort of a shame.

Many of the founders were against having a standing army.
Everyone knows that a military is trained to fight and it will seek out a fight because that is what it does.

Unfortunately, we learned right away (by the Jefferson residency) that we were going to need to either have a navy or be charged the infidel tax by the Islamic world. The military grew and we went to war with militant Islam and we never looked back. There have been peaks and valleys but that isn't going to go away. As long as the contingent that makes up the Islamic State and we both exist, we will be fighting them somewhere at some level going forward. The folks pushing the caliphate aren't going to go away and they aren't just fighting our interference. Our interference has been poorly executed at every turn and does serve as a good recruiting tool, though.

We continue to meddle and choose sides to protect our interests. Mostly we have managed to arm the same people we end up fighting next and have our weapons Own weapons and training used against us.

The he guys and gals playing EQ weren't the ones that decide where we fight next. Corrupt politicians do that.
The military is either serving the noble purpose of existing to keep us free to do things like farm Kronos from moms basement or it isn't...If it isn't lets just shut it down - but if you have any sense of what is happening in the world right now you know that is a rediculous idea.
Don't hold it against the vets when policy is executed poorly, they stand ready when necessary.

So, yeah, a 10% discount on a game isn't an overwhelming thank you for that decision but it is a nice gesture.

I've said my piece I suppose. I won't beat the horse any further.

TL;DR We have to fight them somewhere. Our foreign policy has been poorly executed for many years. Soldiers don't choose where they fight, corrupt politicians do.

@ Darth

I am a veteran, I didn't get a bad discharge, I have insurance thru my job so I don't need the VA. And yes I can have a notation put on my drivers license if I want. I chose not to. The people that know me know I am a veteran. I don't run around telling everyone. I am proud I am veteran but I don't need anything special for it.

Also a state ID card is not a military ID. And since I've been out since 1989 the changes to senior enlisted id's etc weren't known by me.

And for those others that think everyone in the military shoot people, I was never faced with that situation thankfully. But I was faced with zero communication with family and friends for extended time frames, long work hours and sleep deprivation. It's not all fun and games but seeing foreign countries and meeting new people was worth it.

As this is no longer a conversation about EQ or the TLP servers, I'm going to go ahead and close this as off topic.