Soldiers "protect their country" when they actually defend it, not when they're out killing so certain people can get power and wealth.
What would an Iraqui say about an invadimg US soldier? And a Vietnamese? Or the Afghans, that got massacred first by the Talibans the US brought there and armed to expel the Soviets, then by the same Americans who wanted to remove their former allies turned hostile. And I have SO many other examples.
Military are not there to protect you. You can lie to yourself as much as you want, but any soldier not fighting on his own native territory is protecting no one, just corporate interests.
So... thank you Kurds, Iraqui, Afghans (the actual ones, not Talibans)?

It's only natural this kind of stuff gets criticized by anyone with just a little bit of contemporary history knowledge.

In some parts of the world, today is known as Remembrance Day. The man who wrote this died 2 1/2 years after writing it. He never lived to see Armistice Day which became Remembrance Day.

In Flanders Fields
BY JOHN MCCRAE

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

While I agree that the OP's motives were probably a bit more slanted than his answers... and yes, posting this thread could be (obviously) a point of political contention... your arguments seem almost equally slanted and built on inference. Veteran's Day in the US is not built on cheering the leadership, celebrating conquests, or exalting military might or hardware... it's almost nation-wide a holiday of remembrance of individual service and sacrifice. I think someone would be hard pressed to find a nation on Earth that doesn't have some relative day of remembrance and / or recognition.

I do understand your frustrations. I have them too, but there are plenty of times in relatively recent history to be frustrated with a lot of countries. Again, if we're just looking to assign blame, there's plenty to go around.

Armies are necessary and can do good. They can also do catastrophic evil, but rarely is the man or woman on-the-ground privy to those motives or in control of the situations and outcomes. That is politics... and to the private citizenry to stay politically involved and cognizant of their country's actions.

Dammit mods let us have a break every once in awhile...you do it for all the others who trash my rep and the rep of others.

The actions of armies are a discussion of politics and the politicians who make those decisions. The actual people who volunteer to fight and risk their lives for their country's cause should be commended and respected at all times.

I agree with that sentiment and also wish our servicemen/women well today.

(Dad is a veteran so we celebrate by taking him out to eat)

======================

You first, since you were the one to bring it up.

(Also many cannot afford to help people in major ways)

=======================

Yes, agreed 100%

Why some cannot come into a thread and just say "my respect goes out to those men and women" or similar and not bring up politics is beyond me.

(Even the ones decrying politics are making this thread political by choosing to post politically fueled comments...as if they see what they think is a potential dumpster fire of a thread and go "eh, might as well light the first match")

Vetarns day makes it sound American while everywhere else calls it Armistice day.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/10/us/veterans-day-armistice-day.html

I'm glad you understand.

Don't project your divisive bias on me. I meant exactly what I said in the first post and the one you quoted. Go take your "you can't be apolitical" bullshit elsewhere. I genuinely don't care about Iranians shooting down unmanned drones, regardless of the circumstances.

Thanks to all veterans who fought to defend their homecountry against the invading aggressors (orcs, zergs or whatever), rather than fighting on the other side of the globe "for their country's interests".

Yes, we need to thank the slaves of the US government who murder in the name of Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Game suggestions:
Cannon Fodder
Spec Ops: The Line
...?

LOL!

Screw it, nothing good will come from this discussion.

Do they still have conscription in Norway or other Euro countries?

Why Spec-Ops: the Line?