I tried to join the Army like 7 years ago because A) I didn't have any better idea B) I wanted to travel and bang foreign chicks and C) I wanted to try to get into helicopter flight school.

I made it all the way through the recruitment process, killed the ASVAB and had the choice of any job I wanted, and in the back of my mind the entire time was "I actually hate the military industrial complex and am doing this for entirely selfish reasons".

Anyway, despite scoring higher and being fitter than any of the other dozen or so in my recruitment class, I had the fatal flaw of flat feet, so after getting them X-rayed to see just how flat, I was medically DQed.

Long story short, had I not had the slight genetic defect that kept me out and you thanked me for my service, I would have either felt incredibly awkward, or just laughed in your face.

The only people who want you to thank them for their service are fucking douchebags.