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GaldraChevaliere wrote

Honor, chiefly. Even knowing you're gonna be abandoned by VA if you're not killed outright in battle, being a soldier is a high-prestige position in US society. The military is basically a huge jobs program and takes up a big sector of the economy, and for a lot of people from the underclass it's a way out of crushing poverty. People stop seeing you as black or trans and start seeing you as a serviceman. At least, in theory. In practice, you go home and realize you can't connect with people anymore and end up dragged back in. Most soldiers I've met end up serving second tours because they can't readjust to civilian life or identify with people they used to have much in common with. It's a tempting offer, take a big risk for a big reward. But for minority personnel, that reward usually doesn't come.

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