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[quote=Anonymous]I'm a Naval Academy grad. I loved it and it was one of the best experiences of my life. It also has its downsides. It's definitely not as bad or as crazy as the negative posters here say, nor is it quite as incredible and astounding as the DCUM boosters would have you believe. But it was an incredible four years that I would do all over again.

I didn't stay in past my initial commitment. I'm not a CEO and I don't make $700k. I make $200k in a low-stress, four-day-per week job in a very nice, moderate-cost area. Combined, my wife and I make $300k. She works part time. Our wealth percentile is probably higher than our income percentile. We have about $4M invested, and whatever earnings that generates, I suppose, you could throw on top of our $300k earned income.

One common retort that against military service that you sometimes hear from people who believe themselves and their children to be intellectually superior is some variation of "the best and the brightest should not be killers."

Maybe I kept a ship in position and supervised a process that launched Tomahawk cruise missiles. Am I a killer? Maybe a West Point grad led a platoon or company that engaged in combat. You'd likely say that she was a killer.

But what about the CIA, DIA, Dod, and State Department operatives who chose the targets of the cruise missile? What makes me somehow more of a killer than them? Are those analysts who studied foreign affairs in college somehow less culpable in the killing? Are they not among our best and brightest? What about President Obama and Secretary Clinton who ultimately oversaw the planning and gave the final orders? Bright people? Killers? [/quote]

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