Duty Honor Country

In 1995 I started looking at what I was going to do with my life after graduating from High School. I knew I had good options in front of me, but only one seemed right. I chose the Army. I was attracted to the camaraderie, the honor, the values, and the long line of character-filled leaders that had paved the way before me. For 10 years I served in uniform. When I was done - separated for injuries from Iraq - I reflected on the past, a lot.
The Army attracts people who have character, not those who need to develop it. There is a massive exodus right now of people who are fed up with the hypocrisy that they have been trying to work around for their careers. Big Army gets the formula wrong. Every year there are pay raises, and young officers get the highest raises of all ranks - this is where, even after all the raises, these are the fastest shrinking (demographic by rank) population of troops. These young officers don't value the money to the degree Big Army thinks they do. These troops want to know that they can depend on their superiors, that they will be developed professionally, that they will be trusted and respected. These character driven values outweigh the value of the dollar to many young officers. As disappointment sets in and frustration grows when officers find little to no support from their superiors, they opt to leave the military.