These days I'm not out and about in uniform that much, so I don't get the "Thanks for your service..." that often. However, it's never bothered me at all, unless it's just openly and unabashedly fake and given with the obvious intent to show a kind of false or show-off patriotism.
People serve in the military for all sorts of personal reasons, but the bottom line is that these are jobs that most Americans don't want to come anywhere near. Even if you never find yourself under fire or in a particularly dangerous job, military personnel (by and large) have to move their families a lot, have to function within a fairly strict style of personal and work environment, don't get paid a ton of money (especially in the junior ranks), and put up with a lot of inconveniences that don't necessarily accompany normal civilian life. And whether you sign up out of love of country, or because you want an education or job skills, or because you don't have any better idea of what to do with your life, you are still serving the country and the citizens. You don't "work" in the military. You "serve."
There are a lot of ways that the country tries to show gratitude to service members, like education benefits, VA benefits, etc. But those all come from the faceless nameless bureaucracy of the Federal government. It's different to have a citizen thank you, and recognize that you don't have to be serving and that you probably gave some things up in choosing to serve.
I usually just say "you're welcome" or "thank you" in return.
Slowguy
(insert pithy phrase here...)
People serve in the military for all sorts of personal reasons, but the bottom line is that these are jobs that most Americans don't want to come anywhere near. Even if you never find yourself under fire or in a particularly dangerous job, military personnel (by and large) have to move their families a lot, have to function within a fairly strict style of personal and work environment, don't get paid a ton of money (especially in the junior ranks), and put up with a lot of inconveniences that don't necessarily accompany normal civilian life. And whether you sign up out of love of country, or because you want an education or job skills, or because you don't have any better idea of what to do with your life, you are still serving the country and the citizens. You don't "work" in the military. You "serve."
There are a lot of ways that the country tries to show gratitude to service members, like education benefits, VA benefits, etc. But those all come from the faceless nameless bureaucracy of the Federal government. It's different to have a citizen thank you, and recognize that you don't have to be serving and that you probably gave some things up in choosing to serve.
I usually just say "you're welcome" or "thank you" in return.
Slowguy
(insert pithy phrase here...)