Well written and well argued. There are many ex military who have come to the same realization (like one of the posters here a 7 year Navy vet). This is an important topic and one I think you should keep writing about. Since you don't personally have experience in the military, I think bringing in the experiences of those who have would make your argument even more powerful--hard to argue with actual vets who drank the Kool Aid themselves and live to tell the story of a manufactured patriotic paradigm. Well done.