I wondered if you'd find this, after having seen you mention that you'd served. I'm glad to get your perspective. This is along the lines of what I've heard veterans I know saying. If you don't mind me asking, why did you personally join?I am thanked for my service often and it has left me a little jaded, although I respect the sentiment and rarely doubt that it comes from a genuine place. I am worried that it's become a "bless you" type of response as with sneezing, and that people don't really know why they say it.
Don't mind at all, but I hardly have a satisfying answer for myself. I just had no direction after high school, no will to continue on to college, and recognized that I had serious deficits that I thought the military could help me fix because of how regimented the lifestyle is. I knew that I was heading toward a poor quality of life filled with unhappiness if I didn't find a way to address the way I existed. My decision probably wasn't my only option, but it worked for me. And I won't have to worry about post-degree debt with the GI Bill.