Even without the Woke Charlie Foxtrot it’s not a good time to enlist. I joined in 1972 and every promotion I ever got right up through E8 I was competing with Combat Veterans, appearing before boards sat on by Combat Vets. You have to really work to beat out peers with Combat experience. As soon as I returned from Desert Storm I was selected to attend the Sgt Major Academy.
That was when merit counted for something.