OK, so I misremembered the issue with Halliburton and the troop messes. It wasn't that they were substandard, it was that they were grossly overcharging the US government to the tune of 10s of millions of dollars for meals that were never provided. Here's a link to that noted radical liberal rag the Wall Street Journal about that one:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB107568715481617685.html?
And gee, I am supposed to be shocked about someone's mental makeup changing after military indoctrination? Golly gosh gee, isnt' that the entire POINT of military indoctrination, is to change someone's personality around until they are a nice square peg that fits neatly into the square holes the military has all lined up? (Or, as the military would put it, turn them into a team instead of individuals.) Hey, I'm sure that's necessary for the military, random individuals are unlikely to want to go charging face-first into machine gun nests to save a group of people they may not even like, say. But to expect surprise that attitudes of someone will change after entering the military? I think not.
Most of the people I know in the military, or have had contact with over the last few years (mostly AF, with a few army people thrown in, including at least one chopper pilot) have been anti-Bush andn against the war in Iraq. And no, I wouldn't say, ever, that the average military person is necessarily any stupider than the average non-military individual. Do note, however, that education levels is a different issue than intelligence. A 19 year old enlisted person is going to by definition be less educated than someone with a college degree. Not necessarily any smarter or dumber, just less educated. But yes, that was a stupid statement by whoever said it.
-Arlos