I have known military men who have successfully made the transition to civilian life, They are huge success in many cases. I also know others who have not. The latter are too often inflexible, self-righteous prigs that normal people don’t want to deal with.

I look especially askance at men who talk about how they “led” others, but never consider for a moment that insubordination would have meant time in the brig, or worse.

Seriously, the military does a lot of good for a lot of people, but it is a culture that is apart from democratic society, one that relies on the Military Code of Justice and literally denies its members access to the Bill of Rights.. We need to see it for its great strengths and — at times — frightening flaws. A democratic society strongly supports its warriors, but can never /fully/ embrace its armed forces for anything beyond their assigned task, which is to serve, defend, and remain subordinate to civilian authority.