Veterans Day: The Uniform Comes Off. The Responsibility Stays.
By Chris Vick, Founder, Squatch Survival Gear
Veterans Day is for the men and women who served this country, in peacetime and in war. Whatever branch you served in, whatever your job was, you were part of something that depended on people showing up and doing their part.
I enlisted in the Army Infantry in 1996 and became an Infantry Officer in 1999. My service included the 82nd Airborne, the 18th Airborne Corps, and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. I’m proud of that service. It shaped how I look at responsibility, how I approach problems, and eventually, how I built Squatch Survival Gear.
When you leave the military, plenty of things change. But the idea that somebody else is counting on you has a way of sticking around. These days, that responsibility shows up in my family, my business, and the people who trust the gear we make.
What do we carry home from military service?
One lesson that stays with me is that your preparation affects more than you.
If you’re responsible for equipment, other people depend on you to check it. If you’re responsible for a plan, they need to understand it. Being the only person who knows what to do leaves a pretty big hole when you’re unavailable or need help for yourself.
That applies at home, too. You may know exactly where the flashlights are, how to shut off the water, and what’s in the first-aid kit. Does anybody else in the house know? On a family hike, can someone besides you explain where you’re going and when you’re supposed to be back?
Those are ordinary questions, but the answers matter. Preparing your family includes taking the time to show them what you know and letting them practice. Buying the equipment is one part of the job. Making sure someone can use it is another.
That’s why we spend so much time teaching here at Squatch. I want you to leave an article knowing something useful, whether you buy a pack from us or keep using the one you already own.
How does that experience show up in Squatch gear?
Carry military equipment long enough, and you develop some opinions about backpacks. I certainly did.
A pack can look great sitting on a table. Put weight in it and carry it for a while, and you start asking better questions. Where is that weight riding? What’s digging into you? Can you get to what you need without unloading everything? Does the organization make sense once you actually use it?
Those questions are part of how Squatch got started, and they still matter when I look at a design. The person carrying the pack has to live with the decisions we make at the sewing table.
It’s also why I talk about fit, weight placement, construction, and the limits of equipment. You deserve to understand what you’re buying and how to get useful work out of it. A veteran-owned label tells you something about my background. The gear and the way we take care of people have to earn your trust.
Why does making it in America matter to me?
Because there are Americans behind the work, and I want that work to stay here.
The gear we make at Squatch Survival Gear is made in the USA, by Americans, by hand. Somebody cuts the material, runs the sewing machine, checks the stitching, and works through the details that turn a design into a finished piece of gear. That experience matters. We also carry products from other companies, and not everything we sell is American-made. In some categories, we’ve lost so much domestic manufacturing that American-made options are difficult or impossible to find. That’s exactly why keeping our remaining skills and small shops working matters to us.
You can buy a sewing machine. You cannot buy years of judgment along with it. Knowing how material feeds, where a seam needs reinforcement, or why an assembly isn’t coming together takes practice. Keeping that knowledge alive means keeping people working and giving the next person a chance to learn.
I’ve written before about American manufacturing and the strength we need to rebuild. For a small business like ours, that starts with the choices we make every day: who does the work, where we put our money, and what we’re willing to stand behind.
I want Squatch to help keep American skills in use and American small shops working. That’s part of what carrying the responsibility forward looks like for me.
How do we honor veterans after November 11?
Start with somebody you know. Call them. Invite them for coffee, a meal, or a morning outside. Then keep in touch when the holiday is over.
Some veterans enjoy talking about their service. Others would rather talk about their kids, work, hunting, or where the fish are biting. Let them. You don’t need a deployment story to have a worthwhile conversation with a veteran.
The Department of Veterans Affairs explains that Veterans Day honors everyone who served honorably, in wartime or peacetime. There’s room in that thank-you for different jobs, different generations, and very different experiences.
If you know a veteran running a small business, an honest recommendation or an introduction can help. If you work alongside one, take the time to learn what they bring to the job. And if you have a useful skill yourself, pass it along. Teach your kid, help a neighbor, or give somebody the chance to learn by doing.
To my fellow veterans, thank you for your service. To the families who supported us through the moves, the time away, and the uncertainty, thank you, too.
Squatchamaniacs, reach out to a veteran this week. And take a little time to teach somebody something they can use. That knowledge may help them long after the conversation is over.
Skills don’t weigh anything.
— Chris