I think this cuts closer to the truth than many might want to believe. One question I have to answer with every new PCS cycle here is "you don't get a housing allowance?", usually accompanied by gasps. I also think that far too many people listen too seriously to the sample of talking heads that appear on the newscasts and take them for the "common man," yet are quick to become outraged if one soldier's comment is taken as representative of the Army as a whole. Most of the people I know don't complain about security...they complain about the idiots DHS likes to plant in airports.
It's easy for the military to want to turn on the populace. But it would also serve the military well to remember that their position as a respected and trusted part of the American social landscape is a very recent development in historical terms. It's also a very dangerous thing to dismiss the folks who write your paycheck.
Bookmarks