Military Worship Hurts U.S. Democracy

I didn't get past the second paragraph, but I get the gist. I disagree and the title of the article gives away a agenda on the behalf of the authors.

First, with regard to elected officials, I look for both military service and private sector experience in the same candidate. This is especially important to me in voting for a presidential candidate. If candidate wasn't willing to serve, why would I entrust them with being commander in chief?

Second, with regard to appointed civilian officials and advisers in national security, I could perhaps consider significant, career experience in the intelligence community and/or the State Dept, but the fact that somebody reads lots of history books and watches CSPAN a lot just doesn't really substitute for some kind of actual first-hand military experience. When I look at the PhD qualification in areas like history, or international relations, or whatever other title you want to lay on essentially the same stuff, that comes across to me as: "I've read lots history books and I can right a slam-dunk essay." That makes a person more knowledgeable than the average man-on-the-street, but it doesn't give them the first-hand experience that a career officer (or NCO) got during their 20+ years of actual service.

Also, not all military experience is the same. Different lessons are learned down different paths.

Back to the world of academics - people would be more useful if they first got a technical qualification and/or hands-on work experience out there in the field doing something - doesn't have to be military, just doing, rather than theorizing or studying. Go do. Then, later, after having mastered DOING SOMETHING, then go get an advanced degree that delves into theory or management or history. There are people who go to school for their bachelor's straight out of high school and major in management. What the hell have they ever managed? What have their professors ever managed? if that same person sticks a masters in international relations and a PhD in history on top, I'm still left wondering whom they have any business advising, other than professional college students on how to be professional college students.

Don't forget the civilians sent the military into war with strategic objectives.

In my last job before leaving the United States, I was told to choose between the military and my job. This was a civilian. A job a decade earlier, I was hired because the civilian was a basic underwater demolition diver in the Navy before the Navy Seals were formed back in the early 60s. What about those people who had 10 or 15 years and civilian management experience and bad experiences combined with military good and bad experiences. I would much rather have a civilian that had military experience early in life and doesn't ask them to choose between their civilian job or the military. That goes against the employer support of the National Guard and Army Reserve ethics but it did happen to me period in Canada, I have the Teamsters Union to defend my job. I think that there has to be a happy medium. Just my 2 cents along with my bad experience with one employer. Luckily, I was mobilized for Homeland Security for a year then I volunteer to join the Idaho National Guard and I never came back after the tour was over in Iraq.