Bug Evasion T-Shirt - The Story Behind the Design
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The Story Behind the Shirt
The military spends a lot of time teaching you how to avoid enemy fire. What it doesn't spend nearly enough time preparing you for is the army of tiny creatures waiting to make your deployment absolutely miserable.
Every Veteran who's trained or deployed overseas has a bug story. Mosquitoes the size of helicopters. Spiders that looked like they paid rent. Ants that could invade an entire tent before sunrise. Bees, wasps, scorpions, ticks, sand fleas, centipedes, and creatures nobody could identify but everyone agreed should probably be avoided. Every country seemed to have its own collection of things that crawled, flew, bit, stung, or all of the above.
You'd Do Everything Right
You'd do everything right.
Apply bug spray. Tuck your pants into your boots. Zip up your sleeping bag. Shake out your boots before putting them on. Then somehow you'd still wake up with three mysterious bites, a swollen ankle, and a buddy telling you, "Yeah... I probably wouldn't scratch that."
The best advice usually came from the locals.
"Oh, don't worry. It's only dangerous if it bites you twice."
Thanks. That's comforting.
More Than Itchy Souvenirs
Most of the time, the bites were nothing more than itchy souvenirs. Sometimes they weren't. Allergic reactions. Infections. Swelling. Rashes. Fever. Numbness. Scarring. Some Veterans encountered insects and spiders they'd never seen before, and their bodies responded in ways they never expected. Medical treatment in the field wasn't always immediate, and often the mission came before comfort. You scratched, slapped another mosquito, and kept moving.
Years later, some Veterans continue dealing with lingering skin conditions, allergic sensitivities, nerve issues, or illnesses linked to insect bites and exposures during military service. Trying to explain that an insect halfway around the world changed your health isn't always an easy conversation during the VA disability claims process. You know exactly where it happened. You remember the deployment, the location, and even the bug. Yet proving that connection can sometimes be another challenge.
For some Veterans, that challenge ends with three words they've read before.
Not Service Connected.
Not Every Enemy Carried a Weapon
This shirt is for every Veteran who discovered that not every enemy carried a weapon. Some had wings. Some had eight legs. Some were so small you never saw them until it was too late. You survived the mission, but you also survived the world's most aggressive insect population. That's another unforgettable story from Not Service Connected.