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My late father spent 21 years in the Navy. He enlisted in 1943, when the forces were still segregated. He disliked the service intensely, but he bore down and snagged the bennies, including a decent amount of retirement pay. He retired as a senior CPO.
Additionally, my dad and mom, thanks to the VA loan program, bought a house for $18K back in 1967, when ordinary people in Cali could afford property. We still have that crib today -- it's value has went up more than tenfold.
I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. IMO, without the military and the civilian public sector (teachers, et al), we wouldn't have a black middle class. But I would also be uneasy if I were a teacher and military recruiters were crawling all over my campus, especially if COLLEGE recruiters aren't making an effort.
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