[jm951]

Mikester- Perhaps I have a different perspective on service since the vast majority of the males in my family have served at least one hitch and some were lifers. We've been in about every fracas this country has been in, including the Revolution. The universal opinion from those who are still around for comment is that service, while hard, sometimes dangerous, and not a whole lot of fun, made them better appreciate what they had when they got out. I attempted to enlist back in 1980 and was rejected for medical reasons. Even so, I look at kids from my daughter's school and I see many like I described earlier and the vast majority of them have decidely liberal leanings. So from my POV, it looks (generally speaking) like the only ones willing to volunteer, even if for only one hitch, are the kids who come from the conservative backgrounds.