Fly... I generally agree with your statements.(except fishing) However. How you serve whether it's active duty , active reserve, or drilling reserve or even (god forbid) the peace corps.. IT IS STILL SERVICE. We will have plenty of reserves coming home from a war. When you place yourself under the service of your country you do what is required , when it is required. War or no war. IT IS STILL SERVICE. Service is service and I respect everyone who has given to their country. You never compare the type of service or duration.
We have Hundreds of millions of the populace who will never serve their country in any fashion.

The guys I really hated on active duty always told you their plans to go on and do something else (greatness). And this service stint was just a ticket to be punched for their resume.That was and is Kerry. I have 20 years active duty service(77-98) and I have seen plenty of these guys. One guy even received PETA membership brochures while we were deployed.