I don't walk up to doctors and tell them how to doctor.
I don't walk up to lawyers and tell them how to lawyer.
I don't walk up to construction workers and tell them how to construct.
Then why, oh why, do people walk up to troops and not only instruct them on what is "really" happening overseas, but also imply or outright say that we were "tricked" into service?
I've never understood why in any other facet of life, folks value experience, but yet so many people feel that because of an article they read, a class they attended, a show they watched, that their peripheral taste of a topic from third party sources trumps a total immersion into the military lifestyle for multiple years
It's a presumptuous position that alludes to the fact that the speaker is smarter than the troop who has served. It implies we were somehow tricked, or that we didn't truly understand what we were doing.
So to sum up:
I wanted to serve. I volunteered to serve. I knew what I was doing. I'd do it again.
Ranger Up Veteran I'd do it Again T-Shirt