Purchasing Guide for Military Retirement Gifts Retirement presents from the military have existed for generations. Members of the Roman army were given something unique as a retirement present even thousands of years ago. Retiring military personnel may be just as hard to purchase for these days as anybody else, but this time it’s likely because they are quite set in their ways and know exactly what they enjoy and don’t like, particularly the things they don’t like! It makes finding them something meaningful to purchase for their retirement that will really make them happy a difficult task. After serving in the army, navy, or air force for a while, some individuals who are set to retire feel they have had enough and wish to leave the military behind. For the rest of their lives, most people, however, will continue to feel a connection to the military and take pride in their service. It may be difficult to leave the military after serving for a while; for me, the hardest part was letting go of the sense that I was someone others depended on, someone important and needed. These positive emotions were replaced with a sense of loss (which is almost the same as losing a family member). I can still clearly remember the hardest parts of my experience, which were when I was walking down the street and no one was staring at me or acknowledging who I was, what I had done, or what I had gone through during my military service. I felt as if I had turned into nobody. These emotions eventually faded after some readjusting, and a fresh sense of acceptance took hold. Nonetheless, I have stayed, and I will continue to be, attached to the military until the day of my death. Even after leaving the service more than 20 years ago, I still had the retirement presents from different individuals. They make me feel like I belong and are always on display in my house. That’s really quite typical of most military retirees, and I get a lot of satisfaction from going to other veterans’ houses and seeing their medals, souvenirs, and artifacts from their time in the service. So what would be the ideal retirement present for someone who served in the air force, navy, or army? Where should I do my research? Fortunately, there are now a lot of websites offering presents that are perfect for active duty members and retired veterans, so you won’t run out of options. The advent of duvet cover and pillowcase bedsets with high-definition prints of several services, branches, units, regiments, and battalions is one recent addition to the available selection. These bed sets, which include the flag, badge, or symbol of each unit, are proving to be quite popular. They are ideal for the retiree to keep their connection to the armed forces intact. Weary by the day’s events, a few of them will have spent several nights in unpleasant quarters, most likely sleeping in the same outfit they have been wearing for the previous week. So what could be more ideal than curling up underneath your military keepsake from your time spent serving? If the retiree of the person you are buying for worked in a specific branch, service, or unit, you can contact the company and they will gladly work with you to come up with a suitable design for the retiree if they don’t already have one in stock. Another company has even started a service whereby they can print just one item in the design of your choice. Whatever you decide to get them, they will undoubtedly appreciate it. The knowledge that people outside the military, including friends, family, and acquaintances, still care about and respect the service they provided to their nation may help ease the grief that comes with leaving one’s family. retirement presents for the military