my husband was a contractor for 20 years and hated every day of it.
The whole Hillary email debacle makes him nuts. He says the fedgov does whatever it wants with very little repercussion.
The rules do not apply.
I was in the Air Force for 24 years. Loved my first 3 assignments, hated my last 2 assignments. Everything in the middle was neutral (meh). My last assignment was at the Pentagon, which was awful. During the Clinton Administration, the whole military culture seemed to change for the worse.
After I retired, was offered a few jobs with DC area contractors. My answer was no thanks—see ya. Though no shortage of retired officers working at those companies.