I asked if he was going off to war, he'd been back on duty for a week. He laughed and said, "Not unless we are going to war". I then spoke of no troops on the ground in Ukraine, and he said yes, no troops will enter the field of battle, it would be a violation of many treaties and the US is not a NATO member.

EDIT: I meant to say the Ukraine is not a member of NATO not the US. My apologies