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In the 24+ years that I spent on active duty in the Army, including the first Gulf War and especially after 2003, I can't think of a thing that the military has done to guarantee any of the great freedoms we enjoy here in the United States.
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What a marvelous challenge. I guess the first thought exercise I have for us is, what do you think would happen if there was NO US Military? It's the things that DIDN'T happen that are most interesting. We can argue all day about the efficacy of what they have actually done with it. But you get as much done displaying a shotgun on the wall than you do swinging it around. And it helps if you demonstrate you have the nerve to take it off the wall when you want. Here are some of my talking points.
1) There is still an Israel.
2) There is still an Eastern Europe.
3) There is, for the most part, worldwide peace.
I'm saying these things are not true if the US Mil doesn't exist. And I'm also saying that the loss of these things would deeply threaten the US.
It's great we feel there is no existential threat. What a great thing to feel. Best thing ever actually. But tell me: is it because there's nobody who wants to threaten our existence??
We did not feel there was no existential threat in 2002. Why do we feel that way now? Are we wrong now, or were we wrong then? Is it that the enormity of our response demonstrated that we are not a paper tiger? Did we actually address the threats we felt? Or is it just chance, just luck, just our response to events?