I think I’d have enjoyed being a US Army officer back in the post-Vietnam fuckup Stripes era, posted to some base in Germany or Korea or Japan.

Like, at 23, “Here’s three dozen non-college bros having their dorm life experience, it’s your job to tell them what to do. Here’s where you’ll practice blowing stuff up and play laser tag with real tanks all day, here’s the bars and brothels at night. Try to keep the guys from getting picked up by the MPs drunk and fighty too much. Even if they drug test dirty, not like we’d have someone to replace them with.”

“Here’s base pay at a solid conversion rate, here’s enough to get a nice apartment, here’s a bonus for going skydiving with your friends every few months. Have a great time, we’ll call you up for a victory lap in the Gulf War and send you home to parades.”

“Oh, and if Reagan ever gets frisky, we’re sending you straight into a solid wall of tanks and shells. Don’t worry, we’ll nuke it for you first.”

I could dig that.