Good point, NewIncarnation! Though I don't know about the vets part. When I was joining, I discovered that the military is more than just good for national defense. I met a really sweet girl who was dumb as a rock. She said she studied really hard this time so she could get in. Well, that showed me that the military is also good for providing a good, stable income and a job people can be proud of, even if they aren't the brightest bulb. Granted, that bulb needs to be at least 40 watts, or if you want to translate that into ASVAB scores, 35. But still, just because you aren't smart doesn't mean you don't deserve to have a job that you can be proud of and that contributes to society. The military provides that to people who wouldn't have another option.

Of course, one could also argue that in an ideal world, there aren't dumb people.