John- I served in the 1991 Gulf War and was part of  the forces that invaded Iraq as the left hook force. That war was short, brutal, and I had no issues. 
On December 7, 2003, I was notified that I was going to be sent to Iraq once more! On March 17, 2004, I arrived at LSA Anaconda/Balad Air Base nicknamed Mortaritaville.That was my base of operations and in that 11 months, I almost lost my life 3 times and numerous other occasions, where I witnessed rockets, remote IEDS vehicle borne IEDs, and mortars. 
In 2005, I came back to America, my mother and my late wife said I was ANGRY! Those who have faced horror will never forget and will not entirely get over it. 
 Like the Robert deNiro Character in the movie ,The Mission,  I am in constant internal debate about violence. Personally, I would use violence as the last resort.
Still, we do need the military and police forces. Because as many of us know, it's not kumbaya and sadly, violence has to be used to stop a bad person or situation.