To anyone who is serving or has served in the US army.I have a question?
Ok this is probably a STUPID question but…My boyfriend just got out of the army after 7 years of service. He has been overseas a few times and I wanted to get him something special for christmas. Im going to get him a personalized army throw blanket with his picture on it and the army logo. And I was just wondering if this is a good gift idea and if everyone in the army has to get those fancy pictures taken??? lol..Stupid question huh? But Ive seen lots of pictures he has from Iraq just not any of the professional looking ones. So my questions are…
1 Is this a good gift idea
2 Would you rather have the professional lookin pic or just one of a digital camera be ok?
3 Does everyone in the army have those profesional pics in the suit?
4 And last but not least, whats a good sneaky way to get one of his pictures without him suspecting anything?
Thanks so much for any help!!
Also, what would you like it to say under the army logo? likes dates you were in the army? or Just sgt. (then his name)?? I just have no idea with any of this stuff.. : (
Im really dumb lol..How do I figure out the name of his unit?
He does have PTSD pretty bad. But he is still very proud of what all hes done in the army..Im just confused..I dont want to upset him with this gift
It depends on the person..
I would think, that the best pic to use would be one of him and some of his good friends. Use an Iraqi pic, since you said he sent you some.. My favorite pic from when I was there, was the one with about 8 of us holding the flag, and about 6 iraqi citezens in it as well.. That was sweet!! If he sent you something like that. I’d suggest it..
For the logo? Maybe.. Use the name of his unit and the dates he was there..
Just a thought…
Scope this ****. What you are referring to is his DoD pic, Now that he is out, getting that may be hard. You gotta look at two things 1) Did he enjoy being in the Army? 2) Do you think he will like it. I would get a digital photo cause the DoD photo is usually pretty dry.
First off, you have to think why he is no longer in. he may dislike the army now and not like this gift. or he may have been medically discharged like i was, and hoping he was still in.
the suit you refer to is called Class A’s. it is a suit that most people don’t like wearing. or atleast i didn’t.
the ACU is what everyone wears on a daily basis and probably a better idea. so the snap shot from iraq would be my best bet.
you can put “army strong” the current motto. but he joined under “army of one” but not many liked it. then put his rank and name and the date. just the years are ok if you do not know exact dates.
as far as getting a picture. ask to use his computer. i’m sure there is one in there.
FIRST, YOU HAVE TO THINK….WHEN HE WAS IN IRAQ, HOW MUCH COULD HE REALLY HAVE ENJOYED THAT. A LOT OF SOLDIERS DON’T LIKE TO THINK ABOUT ABOUT IRAQ FOR VARIOUS REASONS. THEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT IF HE HAS PTSD OR NOT. WHY HE GOT OUT OF THE ARMY, AND A LOT OF OTHER FACTORS. YOU COULD MAYBE GET HIM A STATUE OR SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS FORMER UNIT CREST….LIKE I WOULD LIKE A COMBAT MEDIC STATUE. AN EVEN BETTER IDEA WOULD BE TO PUT A PICTURE OF YOU TWO REUNITING AGAIN AT THE WELCOME BACK STATION WHEN HE RETURNED FROM IRAQ….MAYBE SOMEONE SNAPPED A PIC OF YOU TWO HUGGING!
You need to think about what he would want. Why did he get out after 7 years? Does he want to remember his time in the Army?
The blanket is a good idea if he wants to remember his time in the service. I know there is a place here at Bliss that can take several pics and kind of collage them on the the blanket. You could find 4-6 pics of him while serving. Under the Army logo if you decide to put that there you could just do his name with the dates he served. This is one of those things that you kinda gotta ask for the info since you don’t already know it and maybe even just off handed show him something like it and see what he says.
EDIT: This is just a suggestion but maybe you should wait to do anything Military til next year. Give him time to adjust and just deal with everything he’s been though, feeling and adjusting to. Getting out and adjusting to civilian life is hard on them, I know we tried it for a bit and he was just miserable, it took coming back in to get him back to normal. If he’s just gotten out he may not be ready or even able to deal with and look at something like that everyday right now.
Here’s an idea…. find a digital picture frame, upload a mix of pics from your time together and slide a few here and there related to his service but not so many that it’s a constant reminder. The nice thing about those is you can add pics as he’s more prepared and able to deal with things related to his time in the Army.
If the PTSD is a factor, just buy him a digital camera instead.
Why not get him something totally unrelated to the military?