Name:   Talullahhound - Subject:   And Hodja Date:   3/23/2016 10:21:35 AM

Most of my experience with the uniformed military has been with Army, Air Force, lesser Marines and Navy.  Earlier in my career, most of the career Military I worked with were Army Officers that had served in Viet Nam and they had one set of attitudes (speaking very broadly, of course).  As I moved from that environment to DC and the Pentagon, and time moved on, I encountered a different attitude (again, speaking very broadly) - more of a "I'm going to change the world" attitude.  Now I have met miliary who didn't like or respect civilians, and they could be quite distainful -but in my personal experience, once they found out that I was as dedicated to the mission as they were, and would work as many hours as it took to get the job done, they changed their attitude - at least towards me. 

But I wonder if the shift in attitude accounts for coming from an actual war time experience to a more theoretical military experience.  I found those with actual war experience (Viet Nam, mostly) to be more down to earth, dealing with reality.  A lot of them had been drafted, and then decided to make the military a career.  Later, these were all volunteers, war was a theoretical exercise and they had a lot more time to worry about their personal career.  Or it may just be because they were in the Pentagon with a lot more exposure to Generals and higher ranks people and they found it a heady experience.   I know the first time I ever went into the Chief of Staff of the Army's office, I was overwhelmed, thinking of who had sat in that office and decisions that had been made there. 

But I have never felt distain for the military on the whole. Individuals have sometimes disappointed me, and the attitudes of some of the most senior miliatary have shocked and disappointed me, but someof my very best work friends have worn the uniform.