I would love devolution to be true. It'd be faster than fighting a crooked election or trying to expunge crooked politicians from office. However, I agree. The military isn't necessarily a bastion of maverick thought. There has been a steady, constant push all the way back to when Clinton was in office to purge any officers who put doing the right thing ahead of shutting up and following orders. Careerism has taken over many military organizations and you will not see profiles in courage when you threaten some Lt Col with 18 years in who is willing to do whatever anyone says to make it to his 20 years. The retirement package is a blessing and a curse. It's created a monster where people see wrong things and they let it slide because they don't want to lose their ride. Add on to that 30 years of shuffling officers from base to base where no one has loyalty to any particular group / team...everyone feels like a free agent that gets traded every 1.5 to 4 years...eventually people lose that espirit de corps and start acting like individuals afraid that other individuals will screw them over. I know that's why I left when my commitment was done. Gobs and gobs of physical courage, scarce amounts of moral courage. Don't get me wrong - there are still good people in the military but the whole system is rigged to throw those good people away the moment they step out of line.