Remember that the next time you hear the empty phrase "support our troops." You don't support the troops by sending them to sacrifice their lives unnecessarily as we did in Iraq. And you don't support them by discarding them when they return from combat and exit the service.
On the other hand, you don't make nails out of your best steel and you don't make soldiers out of your best men. By deed our society has shown that we consider soldiers disposable. Knowing that why would one elect to go into military service? 
I consider you a respectable person.
The first half of your post I agreed with quite a bit.
I don't understand, nor do I appreciate, the second half, especially the eye roll.
I signed up for the Army in 2002, and I'll tell you why I did it. I felt there was a credible threat to the people I loved in this world and I wanted to do something about it. It was more important to me that their lives continued than my own. You can look back on the last decade with perfect clarity, but I didn't have that luxury at the time.
Although I only did one tour (Afghanistan), I'm proud of myself and people like me, who gave their best with the information they had at the time.
As to the OP, it's an interesting proposition, but given the current fiscal state of my country, I would have to say no. The military gives you great tools to maximize your future, so long as you're willing to keep working hard. I'm proud to say that I did. I went to college on the GI Bill and have a career that I love.
What I would like to see more of is help with veterans who are homeless, very poor or are have mental problems (namely PTSD and TBI).
