re: saying the “STEM class” as officer class works better as colonial officers than as an army officer class that’s a residue of aristocracy

Well I think some of the given characteristics match better.

Like, the developmentalist mindset, the taking “culture” as an arbitrary pre-set given to be worked around with the movable levers being force and technology and economics.

The “competent man” idea, able to manage any aspect of a modern society and to build it up from scratch. (Consider Robinson Crusoe as colonial ideal. Consider also Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, that if you put clever administrator-riflemen boys as the agents of your civilization, then they will use those skills to address in your name the issues faced, but to pose this as a Whiggish perfection of society is somewhat absurd.)