Having been in the military I can honestly say it was a good experience. The military is however filled with a large portion of idiots which I guess is true of anywhere. I find that it is especially true with the military where the majority of enlisted personnel either have no education beyond high school. For many of them the military was there only option. Quite honestly they also make good soldiers because they are quite susceptible to manipulation. Also, I think the idea of the military has been romanticized to the point of being ridiculous. Military life for most is like regular life, you get up and go to work then come home this is particularly boring if you work a technical job.
Seems like the military will suck as long as there is no mandatory service.
Without mandatory service (like Israel) there is a big risk that only those without any chance of getting a real education will get into the military.
And the Harvard, MIT and Yale grads will stay away from doing their duty.
Which in turn leads to several things:
1. Less competence in the military
2. Less diversity
3. A bigger "us and them" mentality, where the soldiers in the field experiences that they don't have the support of their countrymen OR the politicians.
It was a whole different ballgame in WWII, or even in the Vietnam War, where the draft made sure people from all social classes were recruited. It meant that the soldiers usually felt that the people back home supported them even though they were against the war.
"Bring our boys home" was a frequent theme during the Vietnam war.
