>well, as a datapoint, my other son joined the service after the way.
>
>1. he wouldn't fit doug's stereotype of cold-blooded killer
Every individual doesn't have to match the central tendency; they're trained to kill (and as someone observed in the early days of the Iraq war, the US military is very good at killing people); they may suffer severe regret and trauma after the war is over. People do all kinds of things in war they'd never do before or after it.
Doug