of gnawed at me all day.

I hear you. I understand where you're coming from. You're entitled to your opinion and this is not an attempt to argue the point or even discuss the issue in the sense that I have no intent or desire to change your mind. We can disagree with no penalties either way...

I will however suggest that you might give some thought to the facts that what one does and can do is far more important than where one has been and that the Army personnel system does odd and very unfair things to people. Witness the Korea to Iraq trip; not HRC in that case but point is, unfairness goes with the territory.

I learned the hard way not to make hasty judgments about people based on superficialities and I hate to see others have to do that.

That sounds sort of pompous. Not meant that way.