Army Veteran Kicked out of old navy...

[Rynjny]

http://www.news4jax.com/news/Army-veteran-kicked-out-of-Old-Navy/-/475880/15185148/-/10nt1v9/-/index.html

I would never shop at old navy again....oh never did before anyway.

[IamAmerican]

silly...of the veteran, to be so easily offended. The old navy employee,  I'm sure, had everyone fooled as he walked around the store folding t-shirts, all while impersonating a marine.

[Adam W]

What a douche. The douche in question being the Army vet who complained.

[thekillingwax]

Yeah, wearing military dress gear as "fashion" is kinda tacky and rude but for this guy to have been banned or whatever? He must've been making a hell of a scene about it. If he had issue with it, he could have brought it up to the person directly in a respectful manner, not run up to the manager and whine to them.

Now Toby Keith is going to write a song about Old Navy.

[Elwood]

Yea, much easier to blame the veteran than for Gap brands to take any responsibilty for their employee.

[BridgeTroll]

What a douche. The douche in question being the Army vet who complained.

Sorry Adam... gotta disagree here.  If the employee felt the need to wear a marine corps uniform... then remove the rank insignia and medals and ribbons.  I would not have done what the Vet did... but he was right.

[Bridges]

What a douche. The douche in question being the Army vet who complained.

Sorry Adam... gotta disagree here.  If the employee felt the need to wear a marine corps uniform... then remove the rank insignia and medals and ribbons.  I would not have done what the Vet did... but he was right.

Seems like there is a whole lot we don't know about this story.  And I doubt we'll find out since Old Navy will keep it in the PR department.  I'm sure we can expect a "resignation"/firing, which is unfortunate too. 

I just find it hard to believe that approaching the manager and "just informing" him that it was inappropriate for the employee to wear the jacket, would result in security and expulsion from the store.  But again, we'll never know what transpired.

[copperfiend]

I just find it hard to believe that approaching the manager and "just informing" him that it was inappropriate for the employee to wear the jacket, would result in security and expulsion from the store.  But again, we'll never know what transpired.

I do as well. And the fact that he doesn't even accept the apology from Old Navy's parent company makes me believe he just wants the attention.

[NavyRet]

Personally, I believe I'll reserve judgment on this incident until more information is available, preferably factual.

First of all, I find it very hard to believe the guy was banned from the store for simply "reporting the incident to management." Retail stores go WAY out of their way to avoid any type of a confrontation or controversy, and move quickly to resolve situations as they arise. The news media LOVES stories like these and will "fuel the fire" to create more sensationalism, regardless of whether or not there's any credibility present. How did they get the story in the first place? How old was the employee....was he aware of the consequences? Did he remove the uniform?  Funny, how none of this was reported by the media.

Secondly, I recently began working retail and until I did, never understood the dark side of society. Many patrons (not all mind you) seem to feel the employee of a retail store is sub-human and will be treated accordingly. Retail employees are subjected to the ire of any disgruntled customer and sometimes receive the blame for any store discrepancies, both real and imaginary. "YOU DON'T HAVE THIS IN MY COLOR???"  "WHY IS THIS SOLD OUT, DIDN'T YOU KNOW I WAS SHOPPING TODAY??"  "OKAY, SO I DID BUY THIS AT ANOTHER STORE, YOU SHOULD STILL HONOR MY RECEIPT AND GIVE ME A REPLACEMENT AT A 50% DISCOUNT, EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT IT 2 YEARS AGO."

You think I'm kidding?

I don't agree with the inappropriate use of the uniform either, but there's too many cogs missing from this gear, which is probably why this incident is making so much noise.

[Bativac]

Secondly, I recently began working retail and until I did, never understood the dark side of society. Many patrons (not all mind you) seem to feel the employee of a retail store is sub-human and will be treated accordingly. Retail employees are subjected to the ire of any disgruntled customer and sometimes receive the blame for any store discrepencies, both real and imaginary. "YOU DON'T HAVE THIS IN MY COLOR???"  "WHY IS THIS SOLD OUT, DIDN'T YOU KNOW I WAS SHOPPING TODAY??"  "OKAY, SO I DID BUY THIS AT ANOTHER STORE, YOU SHOULD STILL HONOR MY RECEIPT AND GIVE ME A REPLACEMENT AT A 50% DISCOUNT, EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT IT 2 YEARS AGO."

You think I'm kidding?

I worked retail as a college kid. Nothing will open your eyes to the absolute worst humanity has to offer than working retail.

Having read the story, there's a ton of information not in there. You don't go from "talking to a manager" to "you're thrown out of the store."

Also, having been a high school kid not that long ago, I had friends who wore this stuff as a fashion statement - heck my grandpa was in the Navy in the 1940s and my dad used to wear some of his old stuff (until grandpa found out about it...!).

Much ado about nothing.

[Adam W]

What a douche. The douche in question being the Army vet who complained.

Sorry Adam... gotta disagree here.  If the employee felt the need to wear a marine corps uniform... then remove the rank insignia and medals and ribbons.  I would not have done what the Vet did... but he was right.

Fair enough, though it's more a matter of personal preference than a matter of law. He wasn't impersonating anyone, he was just going for a look or whatever.

But I get tired of (some, not all) military types thinking they're heroes or special or something. They're people who get paid to do a job, most of which is not dangerous at all. And like pretty much everyone, they have their own self-interested reasons for joining the military. No one just joins the service out of some selfless desire to help everyone else - and if they do, that's self interested in its own right. But I've not asked anyone to join the Army, so that's your choice and your problem, not mine.

When I was in Jax last, I saw an ad for some country concert (didn't recognise the performer) and it was billed as "military appreciation day". Are you kidding me? Every day in the USA is military appreciation day.

In the interest of full disclosure, my father served 28 years in the USN.

Anyway - back to the story at hand. I don't know very much about this particular case, so I don't know why he was banned from the store. I do, however, know he decided it was his place to voice his opinion to the guy at the store. He apparently felt it was his job to do something. So he kinda brought it on himself. But again, without more info, it's hard to know if the reaction was proportionate to the offence.

As another poster brought up, working in retail is a sure-fire way to get abused. I put up with lots of it back in the day. People treat you like you're a servant or something and feel that "the customer is always right". As a boss of mine told me, "the customer may not always be right, but they are still the customer". Anyway, I digress....

[Timkin]

Personally, I believe I'll reserve judgment on this incident until more information is available, preferably factual.

First of all, I find it very hard to believe the guy was banned from the store for simply "reporting the incident to management." Retail stores go WAY out of their way to avoid any type of a confrontation or controversy, and move quickly to resolve situations as they arise. The news media LOVES stories like these and will "fuel the fire" to create more sensationalism, regardless of whether or not there's any credibility present. How did they get the story in the first place? How old was the employee....was he aware of the consequences? Did he remove the uniform?  Funny, how none of this was reported by the media.

Secondly, I recently began working retail and until I did, never understood the dark side of society. Many patrons (not all mind you) seem to feel the employee of a retail store is sub-human and will be treated accordingly. Retail employees are subjected to the ire of any disgruntled customer and sometimes receive the blame for any store discrepancies, both real and imaginary. "YOU DON'T HAVE THIS IN MY COLOR???"  "WHY IS THIS SOLD OUT, DIDN'T YOU KNOW I WAS SHOPPING TODAY??"  "OKAY, SO I DID BUY THIS AT ANOTHER STORE, YOU SHOULD STILL HONOR MY RECEIPT AND GIVE ME A REPLACEMENT AT A 50% DISCOUNT, EVEN THOUGH I BOUGHT IT 2 YEARS AGO."

You think I'm kidding?

I don't agree with the inappropriate use of the uniform either, but there's too many cogs missing from this gear, which is probably why this incident is making so much noise.

^  To me, it seems strange that Mall security and a Clay County Deputy got involved to inform this man he was banned from the store.

    Not to say I think it was appropriate for the Old Navy Employee to be wearing such decor on his clothing.  I get that the Service man would take issue to that and would be completely within his right to.   But something more had to have happened  to warrant his removal from the Store. It was not as simple as approaching the employee and the manager about the issue.   I cannot see just these two things alone , requiring measures taken to ban him.

[NavyRet]

To me, it seems strange that Mall security and a Clay County Deputy got involved to inform this man he was banned from the store.

I couldn't agree more. There's more to this story than is being reported...but if ALL the facts came out concerning this incident, it ptobably wouldn't be such a viral sensation, or at the very least newsworthy.

But I get tired of (some, not all) military types thinking they're heroes or special or something. They're people who get paid to do a job, most of which is not dangerous at all. And like pretty much everyone, they have their own self-interested reasons for joining the military. No one just joins the service out of some selfless desire to help everyone else - and if they do, that's self interested in its own right. But I've not asked anyone to join the Army, so that's your choice and your problem, not mine.

I also agree with you....to an extent. I don't know of too many military VETs who consider themselves a "hero" and tend to shy away from much of the publicity they have no control over (even the ones without legs).  Most agree with you, however....they're only doing their job. Of course it's a job...otherwise we wouldn't be able to feed our families.  But the last time I checked, the guys serving in Afghanistan, Pakistan and/or Iraq are doing so BY CHOICE. They didn't HAVE to join the Army, Marines, Seals, Guard or enter a rating with a higher propensity to enter hostile activity. They could have opted out for a less dangerous position which would be less likely to receive combat assignments, but they didn't and nobody is being drafted because we have enough volunteers committed to a perspective that most people wouldn't understand.

Our government is far from perfect. You can slant, spin, contort and misreport most policies, agendas and actions, depending on your views and/or political ideals.

But the majority of those serving in combat in today's military are doing so for a reason...and if anyone has lost sight of that reason....here's a refresher:

http://attacked911.tripod.com/

[Adam W]

But the majority of those serving in combat in today's military are doing so for a reason...and if anyone has lost sight of that reason....here's a refresher:

http://attacked911.tripod.com/

Sorry dude, but 9/11 has nothing to do with why the USA is in Afghanistan and Iraq (and elsewhere) - nothing except it was used as a convenient excuse.

The US military is part of the reason why 9/11 happened in the first place. Sure, the average soldier, sailor, etc doesn't make the policy, but they carry it out. It's a choice they make - and so they're not completely innocent, either.

But the last time I checked, the guys serving in Afghanistan, Pakistan and/or Iraq are doing so BY CHOICE.

Exactly. I didn't ask them to do it, so I don't owe them anything.

[Adam W]

See what I mean about perspective?

I never said 9/11 was the reason why the USA is anywhere....I posted that is what compelled much of our military members to place themselves in harms way. You're talking government....I'm talking people.

Anyways...this debate would never end....it has been going on since Al Gore created the internet. I concede that you have your opinion.....and now I'm going to Old Navy to buy some shirts.

Later, dewd.

Ah well, I think you're right - it wouldn't have gotten either of us anywhere with the other. Have fun at Old Navy - I think that place went seriously downhill once Magic died