Been there, done that. RVN 1968-1969. Two years after I had joined they still hadn't sent me, so I volunteered. Unpopular as that conflict is in retrospect, I am still proud to have served my country.
I am, unfortunately, a little too worn out from a lifetime of raising a family to be accepted back into the military. If I was capable I would be first in line.
There is a huge difference between the military age youth of today and those of 30 or 40 or 50 years ago. The young people of today think far more of their own welfare than they do of the welfare of their country or countrymen. It's a sad time.
I have nothing but the utmost respect for the military forces of the United States and especially, right now, for those yonng men engaged in heated battle with the Talilban in the mountains of Afghanistan. They are braving not only enemy gunfire, mortars and mines, but they are also doing this in thei bitter cold of the Afghan mountains in freezing weather.
My hat is off to the United States military.