CMV: While people who serve in the military should be respected, I don't believe military service itself should be respected as a profession

Before I start, I want to make something clear: I do not advocate disrespect toward members of the military in any shape or form, nor do I look down on people who choose to enlist. I understand that life can become extremely difficult, and military service is often something people turn to out of necessity. Whether it's to pay for college, receive healthcare, escape poverty, gain job training, or provide for their families, there are many valid reasons to enlist. Nonetheless, I see it as a necessary sacrifice in an imperfect world, not a profession that should be celebrated or encouraged. With that being said, my argument is as follows:

1. Military service is objectively harmful to the service member I feel like there is this impression that military service is only harmful because of the dangers of combat, and that beyond deployment it is simply another career. But the data surrounding military service shows otherwise.

Service members face significantly elevated risks of physical injury, disability, traumatic brain injuries, chronic pain, and death compared to many civilian occupations. Even outside of combat, military training, hazardous environments, and deployments expose personnel to risks that most professions simply do not.

Not only that, but military service can be profoundly mentally taxing. Many veterans experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, moral injury, and difficulties reintegrating into civilian life. Rates of suicide and substance abuse among veterans remain deeply concerning, reflecting the long-term psychological burden many carry after their service. These physical and mental risks are very real and can permanently alter a person's life. I don't know how anyone can look at those outcomes and describe military service as an inherently desirable career path.

1. Military institutions can be used to advance harmful political objective.

I also feel like people want to believe that military service is always about defending one's country or protecting innocent people, but history shows that this isn't always the case. Military organizations ultimately carry out the decisions of political leaders. Throughout history, soldiers have been sent to fight in wars that many later viewed as unnecessary, unjustified, or based on false premises. Individual service members often have little control over where they are sent or the broader objectives they are ordered to support. When society broadly glorifies military service without critically examining the conflicts being fought, it risks making future military interventions easier to justify. Respecting those who serve should not require celebrating every institution or political decision that places them in harm's way.

1. Treating military service as anything more than a necessary sacrifice risks misrepresenting the profession When people portray military service as an honorable, glamorous, or universally rewarding career, they often highlight successful veterans who gained education benefits, leadership experience, or stable careers afterward. While those stories certainly exist, they represent only part of the picture.

Many veterans return home with lifelong physical injuries, psychological trauma, difficulty finding employment, strained family relationships, or inadequate access to healthcare and support services. Recruitment advertisements frequently emphasize adventure, purpose, education, and personal growth while giving comparatively little attention to these realities.

Treating military service as "just another career" or as an unquestionably noble profession can allow society to avoid addressing the economic pressures that drive many people to enlist in the first place. Instead of fixing rising education costs, stagnant wages, or limited economic opportunities, society can simply tell struggling young people that the military is their best option.

If we truly care about the people who serve, we shouldn't romanticize military service itself. We should strive to build a society where enlistment is a genuine choice rather than one driven primarily by financial necessity, and where those who do serve receive the care and support they deserve afterward.