Enlisted military are not dumb. They simply lack the opportunies and financial wherewithal to go to college. Many use the military as a stepping stone to bigger and better things.
I admire the military for being the most egalitarian institution in our country.
But the military it a bloated institution that needs reform and not more money. I actually support Rumsfeld (except for the Iraq debacle) for wanting to right-size the military and make it into a more nibble force. Rumsfeld had the force of character, the personality, the personal rapport with Bush and Cheney, and the smarts to make it happen. Unfortunately, Iraq has set us back 30 years.
If anyone could have reformed the military it was a Republican like Rumsfeld. The bloated military industrial complex should thank Iraq for saving it.
