The exercise, the runs, being fit and being tested for it twice a year, those are all part of the military culture, the military identity, part of the team and group identity.
How unmilitary and civilianized are these people getting, is the military becoming just another federal job?
Well, that won’t hold them together when they are in the mud and filth, cold and hungry as supply lines are harassed and broken and the supply ships being sank and everyone in the region or on the island is facing a Wake island situation and suddenly there are no front lines and no one is safe, no one is sleeping, no one is eating enough and life is hard, and intestinal fortitude and military purpose is the most important trait that everyone should have.
Preach it, brother. I couldn’t agree more.