Recently Alan Fraser posted a blog article on AT that showed that the one group of professionals the American public has the most confidence in is the military. That comes as no surprise to those of us who have served within the military system because we learned very quickly that the military is one institution of American culture that operates by strict codes of behavior governing ethics and honor. Repeated failures to conduct oneself by the tenets of those codes can get one's butt kicked out of the military quickly and unceremoniously with a less than desirable discharge. As a former non-commissioned officer, it is my observation that the system winnows out those with problems adhering to these comparatively strict codes of behavior and tends to reward and advance those who function best within them. Sure, there are self-serving bad eggs who manipulate the system for their personal benefit and aggrandizement, John Kerry and the late John Murtha come to mind, and more recently...(Read Full Post)