As am I. However, during WWII or Korea or Vietnam, soldiers weren't pulled out of training or preparing for deployment to do these things. They used local troops, if troops were used at all for these sorts of things.
Soldiers (and I assume Marines, sailors, and airmen) rightly resent being taken out of training, having time taken away from them that could be used for more productive preparation for their primary missions. And I've found that true whatever their MOS or job description, whether they're on the sharp edge of the sword or a REMF.
With the borderline criminal lack of funding for military training and equipment, it is ludicrous to spend what will end up to be hundreds of thousands of man-hours and dollars for something that does not facilitate meeting the necessary training required for the military to perform its mission. If ordered to do so, the military will salute and move out smartly to complete their orders for a parade. But they will do it with a shrug and a roll of the eyes for their peers, knowing that their time and money could be better spent.
However, during WWII or Korea or Vietnam, soldiers weren’t pulled out of training or preparing for deployment to do these things.
.............................................................During WWII
Men were pulled from the front lines to do these sort of things. Unfortunately, you are shortsighted in your argument. During WWII the citizens of this great country helped pull the load in every way possible to help our servicemen. Today, without the draft, far fewer are exposed to the service. Why do you think our volunteer servicemen are overextended and exhausted with repeated deployments and little recup time? You can thank the disgraceful Jane Fonda’s of this country for besmirching our servicemen and supporting the commies. We have been softened up by the idiots smoking pot and shouting, “make love, not war.”
Our military needs to do some big screen advertising and nothing is better than starting with a great big parade! The end result will be more volunteers, more support from the citizens, and more equipment and shorter deployments for our overworked Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard and Air Force. Think about it.