I agree: having been in quite a few of them since 9/11 it just feels wasteful and sad and we are actually no closer to putting an end to the violence and radical Islam; in fact, it feels like it is worse now than in 2001. A soldier just feels like a poorly paid mercenary when there is no end or conclusion to the war and the public back home does not care. 

I long ago decided to be as cycnical about this as Trudeau et al and no longer work for anything less than top dollar. Lots of money is the best salve for the pain of war (and pretty women!).