Laurence has said many heroic and true things about the culture of the U.S. Armed Forces and has paid a real price for it. Most people simply cannot separate the military worship with the realities of military life.

When I was a Mises Fellow during graduate school, I once took a phone call from a disgruntled person who objected to a column that Lew wrote about statism and debauchery in which Lew noted the reality of life at and around military bases. I cannot remember what I said to the man, except I do remember defending what Lew wrote and asking what his specific objection might be. It was clear that the man at best had a blind spot toward the Armed Forces, a common disease among conservatives.

People should not kid themselves about military culture and its decadence. There is a reason that prostitution flourishes near U.S. military bases, and it isn’t because the Bad Rooskies are trying to infiltrate the inner circles of the armed forces.