"If chance is war’s dirty
little not-so-secret, self-righteousness is the
veterans’.
Upon returning to American society, it’s
all too easy to fall into pitfalls about what
civilians get or don’t get. Nine years
of war fought by an all-volunteer force that
constitutes less than 1 percent of the total
population has augmented this disconnect between
soldier and citizen; in many ways, a separate
warrior caste has evolved into being. The impact
on our republic of fighting protracted, landlocked
wars with an all-volunteer force can be debated.
The impact of it on those actually fighting can’t
be." •Continues
at NYT
