Actually, Norton1, I don't have to respect your choice to go to war. Now, you'd be closer to gaining my respect if you intended to create mutual respect between yourself and anti-war activists, rather than coerce respect for your choice to be a soldier.

For me, none of this is about pacifism. To be an anti-war activist, one need not be a pacifist. The most famous of all pacifists, Gandhi, was much too ardent an Indian nationalist for his pacifism to be truly effective. It was his blind spot, albeit a perfectly understandable one, considering his intent was to overthrow British rule through non-violent non-cooperation.

I believe we can learn a lot from Gandhi because he was a wise man, not a saint. Here is a quotation from him about the predicament you find yourself in:

"A warrior lives on his wars, whether offensive or defensive. And he suffers a collapse if he finds that his warring capacity is unwanted."

Your warring capacity is unwanted by me, so you will have to find another avenue to cultivate my respect for your choices.