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I've done it many times for military, and I will go out of my way to do it for them. But my eating habits out just don't put me in contact with first responders at dinner time, which is the only time I eat out. I need to try harder.

I try to whenever we are out and I see them. I also buy meals, typically pizza, soda, and brownies, for all of the people on shift at a small fire department in New Mexico on Christmas and Thanksgiving. My Brother in law is a firefighter there and we try to show our appreciation. My wife also bakes cookies and we take then to our local department.

As a LEO it is always appreciated when meals are taken care of. In the police academy we were taught to never expect it and always appreciate it.

When I am at lunch and see uniformed officers from another agency or the military I make it my mission to buy their lunch. Many times citizens beat me to it :).

One time myself and four of my fellow officers bought lunch for a group of 12 soldiers eating at an Asian Buffet. We asked the waiter to keep it anonymous. That did not happen, and all of a sudden these 12 soldiers, including a Brigadier General, surrounded our table and thanked us for the lunch and for our service.

A great feeling.

Just my .02 and thank you all,
LeonCarr

Oh, another thing my wife & I have done a few times is to bring a basket of fruit to the local police station. We've done it the past two Christmas', and after the police ambush in Dallas we made a bunch of homemade cookies and delivered them. We live in a really small town, and know the chief by sight as well as several of the officers on our police force.

Does giving my first class AA seat to a barely out of high school airman in uniform count?

I find it hard to fly first class while the young folks putting it on the line are flying economy.

RPBrown wrote:I did not want to hijack another thread so I started a poll here.
Whenever I go out to eat, if there is a first responder on duty and in uniform I will have the wait staff give me their ticket. Unless we are in a fast food line, they never know who payed for it. I also pay for a soldier in uniform's meal. This is just a small way of saying thank you.
Do you do the same?

Yes, frequently for military and Leo in uniform. My Dad taught me to do that when I was a kid.
My Dad passed away a long time ago. I do it to honor him as much as anything. Plus, it feels
good to give something to the guys serving. Fun watching them look around for who to thank......
I'd be a little miffed at a waiter/waitress that told who paid for the meal.

During a visit to San Antone in Dec I was out w/ the kids at a whataburger. While we were eating 6 uniformed soldiers came in. After our meal, I went and purchased gift cards to cover the cost of their meals and gave each soldier one. What a bunch of honorable men. They were thanking me as if I did something for them. I really wanted to just show my thanks to them and tell them that my family prays for all our service men & women, and that we cared about them. I wanted action to what I teach my kids. What good does it do for me to say thanks and not sacrifice something, especially if i can afford it?

K5CLC wrote:My local masonic lodge hosted a breakfast not long ago for all first responders in our area. We had over 100 in attendance, police, fire, EMS. It was a great time, and a great way to honor what they do for our community.

We did something similar at my church on September 11. Invited many local PD, EMS, FD, & service personnel and fed them Killen's BBQ. It was great to show these folks love through action. BTW, if you don't know what Killen's is then ya need to look it up. Best in Texas.