The tired old cliche of the senior NCOs and officers being tied to the regs, while the junior soldiers ignore them and get on with the fight, is pure hollywood. Just like the cliche of the mentally wounded Viet Nam vet who can’t get on with his life and is forever trapped in a drug and booze addled haze. The fact that we once again have a Viet Nam vet running for president won’t do a single thing to dissuade your local Lefty that they know about soldiers and combat better than you. Even if the closest they ever got to a soldier was to spit on the back of his uniform. In movies, that prejudice will never be far from any Lefty’s grab bag of pre-built personalities, especially if they are producing or directing an anti-war film and need to save time in establishing bona fides for the cast. Just accept that it’s there, it will only die off when the people who hold that prejudice do the same. Based on pictures I’ve seen of the recent demonstrations in Berkeley, I’m guessing that’s about ten years off.
Can’t come soon enough for me.
