I founded Chummy Vet Apparel because I agree with Mr. Franklin.

This military community lifestyle brand is all about conjuring pride through laughter and the sharing of inside jokes - inside experiences that military members, veterans, their families can relate to and recall with hilarity.  

There is an outright ridiculousness the veteran has to ponder functioning in the two worlds of the battlefield and the home front. 

This was (actually is) very true of me. 

I grew up an Army brat and commissioned into the Army via West Point's Class of 2005, aka the "Class of 9/11."  I spent 40 months between Iraq and Afghanistan with most of that time with the 2nd and 4th Infantry divisions at the height of both Surges.  I left the service after nearly 10 years, eager to spend some time with my wife, who was in her final assignment with the Air Force.  

During my transition to civilian life, I struggled to put a lot of my deployment experiences into perspective.  Really for the first time in my life, I was away from the military community.

Through this company, I have encountered the ordinarily 'extraordinary' stories of veterans and the families who support them.  For me, it is connection to people from which I find great inspiration: Veterans.    

In need of some perspective?  I often find myself rereading these two articles: My First Customer and Mad Dog McDow. I also share Ordinarily Extraordinary Vets which are short write-ups of Chummy Vets sportin' the apparel.   

Laughter goes hand in hand with community, and it is often the first that leads most naturally to the second.  There are a lot of veterans out there that could use more of both.  If this apparel helps veterans share a laugh, then this will have been worth it.  

Thanks for checking this store out.  Have a blessed day. 

-Ryan

US Army

OIF 06-08, OEF 09-10 & 13-14