Armed Forces Day (US) | VEDIM

Video: https://youtu.be/d5xut2RTdkQ

Back to posting earlier! (Maybe?) Enjoy!

Welcome to VEDIM day 20! Today is Armed Forces Day in the US. It varies for other countries, but for the US it’s today, the third Saturday of May. It was first observed on May 20, 1950. It was established to honor those Americans who serve in all five branches of the US military: Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. It was created following the consolidation of all military services under the US Department of Defense. The purpose was to replace the individual days for each of the five branches, but they are still observed, especially inside each branch. The first Armed Forces Day was celebrated with parades, receptions, open houses, and air shows. The longest continuously running Armed Forces Day Parade in the US is hosted in Chattanooga, Tennessee. In 2016, Chattanooga celebrated 67 years of hosting this parade, which started in 1950. That’s the basic history of Armed Forces Day here in the US.

All of us know at least one person in the military. I immediately think of two off the top of my head. One is my best friend’s dad, the other is my grandpa. He used to serve in the Navy. I’m not advocating war at all. But we do have to say thank you to those people who have served in the military, and protected us from a lot of bad things. For those who don’t know, deaf people are actually banned from joining the military. Because well, we’re deaf. Yes, I can understand why. At the same time, there are jobs in the military that we can do without requiring hearing. I know that deaf people are allowed to work FOR the military as a civilian contractor, but you can’t join the military itself. Which is…a little bit disappointing. I know several people that would love to, that would definitely sign up to join the military. Some would because of their family, some would because they want to serve their country, but… We can’t because we’re not allowed to. I think the military needs to adjust the requirements for joining the military and let people join but not as “full” soldiers that go to war, maybe. There’s plenty of jobs like chef, nurse, driver, working here in the US for  various things. I don’t know if I would actually consider joining the military, but I think it should be an option for those who do want to.

Anyway, that’s not the point. The point of today is to say thank you and honor those who serve in our military. Thank you for serving in our military. Thanks for reading, see you tomorrow.

Published by Rogan Shannon

Hello there! I'm Rogan, a queer deaf guy who has a passion for leadership and advocacy. I create YouTube videos about a lot of different topics - being deaf, queer, reading, language, and whatever else interests me!

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