Getting back to the subject; it's not necessary to have been in the armed services to have a valid opinion about war. Of course, a soldier may have more knowledge of some aspects of war than a civilian, the same way a farmer may know something about farming that a suit-&-tie-man does not.

The thing is, I find it distasteful that, for example, George Will wrote about how gunpowder sometimes smells sweet, although he took care to stay home when it was his turn to go during the Vietnam war.

(And since you asked, I spent a hitch in the First Infantry Division nearly 50 years ago, early enough to get GI Bill benefits from the Korean War, but too late to fight in it. I don't know what that qualifies me for.)

Clint