Military Veterans and Tandy Leather

[Harry Marinakis]

On ‎11‎/‎4‎/‎2016 at 1:07 PM, Thor said:

Does it matter if they go home to their family at night?

Yes it matters.

Edited November 6, 2016 by Harry Marinakis

[HBAR]

or maybe because they can quit anytime and at least around here get paid a fair wage. 

I know many LEO, I was POST certified myself, we have many LEO in my family. However being in the Marine Corps meant having no say whatsoever during your enlistment. They could work us all day all night for weeks straight, we barely got paid anything, we couldnt quit, sometimes we didnt see family for 6 months or a year.  The sacrifice is not the same. LEO and Firefighters do a nobel job. But, its still a good paying job, with standard hours even though they maybe nights or weekends, and they can quit any time. I know I already said that, but is a very very big thing.

 

Here you can go to a community college POST academy and 6 months after starting you can be making $45-50k a year.  As a Marine with less than a year in you will make around $19,000 before deductions.  Yes we volunteered for it, but you cant change your mind and they own you.  Its not the same.

 

being an LEO isnt as dangerous as the hype either. ( i still dont want anyone hurt)  there are over 600,000 sworn officers in the US. We lose less than 180 a year on the job.  Less than 60 of those are by getting shot.  I hope we never lose another one, but its still not the same.

Edited November 6, 2016 by HBAR

[Thor]

20 minutes ago, Harry Marinakis said:

Yes it matters.

You very obviously have no idea what you are talking about. There are quite a few units which don't come home for weeks if not months. Make yourself familiar with the diversity of law enforcement units and various other first responder units before stating such poor stuff. This is very disrespectful to the people putting their lives at risk for people like you. 

 

4 minutes ago, HBAR said:

or maybe because they can quit anytime and at least around here get paid a fair wage. 

I know many LEO, I was POST certified myself, we have many LEO in my family. However being in the Marine Corps meant having no say whatsoever during your enlistment. They could work us all day all night for weeks straight, we barely got paid anything, we couldnt quit, sometimes we didnt see family for 6 months or a year.  The sacrifice is not the same. LEO and Firefighters do a nobel job. But, its still a good paying job, with standard hours even though they maybe nights or weekends, and they can quit any time. I know I already said that, but is a very very big thing.

 

Here you can go to a community college POST academy and 6 months after starting you can be making $45-50k a year.  As a Marine with less than a year in you will make around $19,000 before deductions.  Yes we volunteered for it, but you cant change your mind and they own you.  Its not the same.

 Many LEOs served in the forces prior their LEO career. And as you stated it is a free choice. It's no secret what's happening there after enrollment. Very few people are choosing a lifetime as soldier, but usually most people enrolling for a career as LEO plan to do this their whole career. Yes, they can quit any time, but most don't as it is more than just a profession it's what they are. Dedicated to serve. Obviously there are others as well.

[HBAR]

Just now, Thor said:

most don't as it is more than just a profession it's what they are. Dedicated to serve. Obviously there are others as well.

I agree.

[MADMAX22]

38 minutes ago, Thor said:

Many LEOs served in the forces prior their LEO career. And as you stated it is a free choice. It's no secret what's happening there after enrollment. Very few people are choosing a lifetime as soldier, but usually most people enrolling for a career as LEO plan to do this their whole career. Yes, they can quit any time, but most don't as it is more than just a profession it's what they are. Dedicated to serve. Obviously there are others as well.

Who exactly is debatable. 

 

This is one of those arguments that noone is going to win. Everyone will have there opinion on how much they suffered or were inconvenienced. Tandy offered a "discount" to veterans, not that they care about them or anything. Just goes to show how much they can sell stuff at without taking a loss. Also they probably assume its a good way to get a few extra customers. 

I know in my experience it wasnt near the same and that was coming from those LEOs who served previously. Most were very happy with the PAY, LESS hours, Power, Better conditions then they had previously had while in the armed services. Ofcourse there is going to be location issues as well, the guy patrolling the border of Canada as compared to the guy patrolling the streets of orange county are going to have varying views on how it is.

[NVLeatherWorx]

@Thor  Unless you are a U.S. citizen living abroad who was once a member of the U.S. Armed Forces (and there are many out there who are very close friends of mine who served with me) you can't equate the European version of how LE and military work as our systems are drastically different.  You mentioned that there are some units that don't come home for months at a time, I am assuming that you were referring to Law Enforcement units?  Not here in the U.S. my friend, they pretty much come home to their wife and kids (if that is what they have) every night and give them hugs and kisses; of my 24 years of active military service which had me deployed around the world constantly I pretty much had about 5 years of time (combined home time) with my wife and family members and I challenge any LEO to live that way if they haven't experienced such a thing before.  It is true that several LEO's have had military service in their lives but they all completed their initial obligations (which is 8 years now) before becoming a police officer and they made the change because they didn't want to continue the life of being away from the families that the military brings with it.  Yes, we volunteer for the service and we can elect not to reenlist when that time comes but the majority of those who do volunteer for the military actually look to it as a lifetime career (contrary to what you indicated) and do so willingly because it is a higher calling and it is also a fact that each one of us who made that commitment understood that it was more dangerous than anything else we could do in our lives.  It takes people like us to stand up for the rest of the nation, regardless of which nation it is, in order to allow those who wish to live a life of bare minimum achievement and contribution to society; if not us, who else is going to give their life for other peoples freedoms?  I spent half of the current life that I have lived putting my butt on the line for my country, its people, and those of other foreign nations and their people (all of Europe for example) in the hopes of sparing them from eventual destruction or attack by another unfriendly nation; I started this life by patrolling a piece of border line that was called the "Iron Curtain" and I did that until the day that it fell and we saw some reunification in Europe and every day that I was on that fenceline/border trace my body was a target in the scope of a soldier from the other side and I knew that, so ask yourself if you could do that same job knowing that you were one simple trigger squeeze away from further existence and then equate that to knowing that you are pretty much sure to go home every night to your wife and kids and tell me where they are the same.  They are not, and it does make a big difference in the levels of sacrifice, as well as recognition, of those who know that every day they are alive could be their last versus being pretty much assured that you will go home at the end of your shift (unless someone gets real lucky and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, which the odds are not very great of happening to you).

Sorry if it sounds harsh but myself, and others who have given like I have, should be recognized differently for what we have sacrificed and I have several LE friends who feel that same way who have never been in the military because they all admit that they could most likely not handle it as easily as what they do everyday and the thought that you can kiss the wife and kids goodbye in the morning may be the last time you see ever see them again, every time you do it.  The psychological impact alone on a soldier is far greater than that on a police officer or paramedic; we see the worst effects of armed conflict and the horrors far outweigh anything I have seen on the outside, and I have seen some pretty nasty results out here but nothing compared to what a roadside bomb can do your best friends; 17 times over 7 years alone.

[LeatherWorthy]

On 11/4/2016 at 0:24 PM, stangman645 said:

I was shocked when I seen the post of Tandy. I was in the Navy for about 13 years and went and applied as was approved this is a awesome deal as I was always paying for the Gold membership.

What all did you have to bring? I assume a DD-214 or some form of documentation? I ask because I am still in. I guess I need to call Tandy. I dont want to drive 2 hours and be missing any paperwork lol. 

[Harry Marinakis]

Here is the Tandy brochure on the veteran discount. You have to sign up in person at a Tandy store.

MilitaryProgramBrochure.pdf

[Vapor Beast]

First things, Thanks goes out to Tandy for offering Veterans and Military this fine discount.

Second, this conversation should have been kept elsewhere, but I'm not a moderator so I guess I can say my 2 cents. LOL

Third, being a veteran, I can say that I'm sick of hearing how EMS and FF people think that they are the same as our Military. They are NOT. Stop trying to be and please stop putting mutilating our national flag with that "Blue Lives Matter" stripe. Seriously ALL lives matter. I don't see soldiers returning from the front trying to put their unit colors across the American flag, 

While I do respect other folks views on this subject, they should also respect mine. Normally I don't say much but this subject is a very aggravating one.  

 

[Vapor Beast]

On 11/8/2016 at 5:03 AM, LeatherWorthy said:

What all did you have to bring? I assume a DD-214 or some form of documentation? I ask because I am still in. I guess I need to call Tandy. I dont want to drive 2 hours and be missing any paperwork lol. 

I took in my DD-214, You can also use your VA card or CAC or military ID.

I also have to drive 2 hours so I took multiple forms of ID, but it's quick and painless I already have my discount card and the discount was applied to my purchase that day