IMO, every little thing counts. I am all for it.
I admit, though, even as a veteran who did not serve in a hot war or combat theater, I get a little squeamish about going for some of the benefits that have been made available to the wider population of all veterans, because I feel that a dollar of benefit I take is a dollar that could be applied to some other veteran program, but...it is just me.
I have no problem with others going for it, and that said, I will avail myself of this one, but there are a few things over the years along these lines that I didn’t want to pursue.
IMO you should not feel squeamish about this one. Unless the park is overbooked and you are preventing another vet from getting in, you are not (IMO) “taking anything away” from another vet.
Again IMO, the revenue from the parks has been yet another way that the deep state has fleeced us to line their pockets.
(I’m a veteran, if that makes any difference.)
I know what you mean. I wish I could get into one of those hunting deals, but I’m not going to get in line in front of a double amputee.
Your a VETRAN, whether you got shot at or not makes no difference at all.
You were willing to enlist and accept the risk that you may have to (to quote Abraham Lincoln) give if necessary “THE LAST FULL MEASURE OF DEVOTION” to the country that you love and cherish, nothing else matters.
SEMPER FIDELIS
5th MEB
Except it wouldn't.
Government accounting is totally different then anything in the real world. Every dollar a government program does not spend is deducted from their budget the next year. So you not taking a benefit just means that someone at the close of the fiscal year will be frantically ordering pens, post-its and other office supplies.
I wish they would allow government programs to have "rainy day funds" where ever thing you managed not to spend this year could be tucked away for when demand is up or to save for some major capital expenditure.
But they don't.
“...because I feel that a dollar of benefit I take is a dollar that could be applied to some other veteran program, but...it is just me.”
I feel the same way. I got my VA doctor to switch me to exams every 18 months, versus yearly - for the same reason. When I go to the VA and see all the banged up Vets with REAL medical issues, or the YOUNG women in my Support Group with serious PTSD from Kuwait and Iran, I, too, feel our dollars should be going to those people, versus me - who is on a mild diuretic for slightly elevated blood pressure.
*Rolleyes*
I count my BLESSINGS to have survived a military career during a time in our History when it didn’t necessarily mean a death or dismemberment sentence. I’m no Hero. I got LUCKY. And that’s a plain and simple FACT. :)
even as a veteran who did not serve in a hot war or combat theater, I get a little squeamish about going for some of the benefits that have been made available to the wider population of all veterans . . . . . .
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I don’t know where you served but I was never shot at. I don’t feel guilty. I lived underwater on a submarine for 4 years and got paid pennies per hour. Anybody who gives 4 years of their life like this should not feel ashamed.