I apologize if I offended you.

I used to feel the same way when I was your age (i'm twice your age). The military and media is very good at glorifying what would otherwise be a thankless position serving sketchy agendas and lies compounding lies, and the shitpile stacks higher and higher as you get up in ranks. This was explained to me by my ol' man, who served as an officer for 20 years. traditional greed and power tend to trump idealism.

you're right, people join for various reasons, including the fallacy and false hope of protecting freedoms. this isn't 1776 anymore.

when a widespread military coup occurs, then I'd have a more favorable view; but I won'thold my breath.