Frau Oberst Docktor Brix had a very unusual military career, serving as a researcher for her entire career. However, your characterization of the military as a childlike life is beyond an insult. When I was 23 years of old, I was commanding a rifle company in combat, responsible for every man in that company and doing my very best to make the right decisions no matter the situation. Go stuff it buddy.
Whatever, bite me. I’ve spent a little time on base too sport. It’s childlike, How tall is your grass? You need paint. Everyone walking around in colored vests to cross streets. Petty rules at the commissary. Draconian Traffic rules. Where did you park? Want to go to the bar late at night? Petty rules at the PX. ID checks. Rules for everything. Life on base is like the ultimate HOA. It is *childlike* and somewhat collectivist. A legally defined caste system.
You yourself said it. At 23 YOU were deciding what was best for people. How many Americans want a general or colonel making the rules of the city?
Of course it’s all absolutely needed for uniformity and discipline on base. But in the real world outside, it’s the opposite of how a US citizen should ever expect to be treated.
This is also why the most obnoxious people on HOA boards are military officer retirees.