Frustrated by the inability of elected officials to accomplish any government tasks bureaucrats and citizens alike turned to the military.
"Americans called for an acceleration of trends begun in the 1980s: tasking the military with a variety of new, nontraditional missions, and vastly escalating its commitment to formerly ancillary duties . . . the cumulative effect of these new responsibilities was to incorporate the military into the political process to an unprecedented degree. These additional assignments also had the perverse effect of diverting focus and resources from the military's central mission of combat training and warfighting."
http://www.carlisle.army.mil/usawc/parameters/1992/dunlap.htm
Not exactly what Savage is talking about this novel written by an active duty officer presented the fear that Washington would divert the military from their role. By 2012 the military had had enough.
The novel won kudos from DoD.
Goodnight all...