I'm not really sure how to say this---so I may ramble a bit.
I was in the service WWII. Practically all males of the correct age were also in the service. In addition to "regular people" we had a lot of thugs, bigots, thieves, etc. Even though I was in it, I did not have a particularly high opinion of the military.
After my fourth retirement from my work, I ended up working an occasional day at an optometry office on Camp Pendleton (where I was stationed for a year during WWII). The difference on the base was absolutely amazing. The quality of the servicemen and women was/is like an upper echelon of humanity. The people are bright, polite, and go out of their way to help each other. I was so happy there that I went back to work full-time.
Driving through the gate is like entering another world. A world where people obey the traffic laws, where they stop their cars and wait if it even looks like you want to cross the street.
The great majority of the children are sharp and polite. It is not the least bit unusual for a 5 year old to come into the office for an eye exam by his/herself. They know why they are there, they know their health history, they make intelligent (adult) decisions during the exam, they behave. THEY ARE ALSO PROUD AND THEY PLAN TO GROW UP AND BECOME A MARINE.
I am so darned proud of them. Unlike WWII the rotten apples are very few and far between...it is a shock to hear about a bad incident. They deserve to be treated better than they are.
I will add something here that really cracked me up. I was driving along a back street on the base and I saw a group of ten or fifteen men, in uniform, trimming the oleanders (flowers if you are not familiar with the name). They were all carrying automatic rifles.
Enjoy and be proud of our military personnel,
Jim