The difference from other kinds of service--and this difference would include my CIA time--is that once you enlist in the military, your derriere belongs to Uncle Sam. You can't quit, you can't choose one war but reject another one, etc. It's a blank check. That's why military veterans fall into a different category than those who've served this country in other ways. I'm always amazed at how some otherwise intelligent people can't quite grasp that distinction.