*sigh* I know this is troll/flamebait, but I can't help myself....
The arguments the above post can be made about any military...not matter who in history you pick. Even good ol' King Arthur had his kniggets go out and fight battles to protect "the good and the right."
From the largest perspective, for better or worse, a military is a necessary function for a country to survive. Show me a single country with a history longer than 1 year that survived without any form of military service at all...it just doesn't happen. Humans in large groups are violent, greedy, and persnickety about others taking the things they own...meaning other groups of violent, greedy, and persnickety humans.
At the lowest level, no matter which military you pick, most guys are in for a chance to "do something," either for themselves or for their country...or both. It's only in extreme circumstances (war, basically) where you get tons of guys joining for the express purpose of kicking the crap out of the krauts/japs/commies/charlie/whatever. Even better, most people have to be trained to do the kicking. Individually, most humans just don't have it in them to go around killing people (thank goodness, I guess.)
I suppose there are "good" wars and "bad" wars as the AC's post seems to claim, but it doesn't mean that the guys doing the fighting, killing, and dying are at fault or are evil in some way. We (humans, that is) dehumanize the enemy; everyone does. AC does this, also, by implying that either the GP is either too stupid to understand his role or to evil to care...or maybe evil enough to be complicit.
Reality just isn't that simple. Probably quite a few of the Persian fighters at Thermopylae were sons of farmers who wanted to get out, see the world, and make something of themselves. Next thing you know, their fighting a bunch of mad men on a narrow road above the sea.
The old quote "My country. May she ever be right, but right or wrong, my country!" (Stephen Decatur) doesn't just apply to the US...every citizen of every nation should take up that attitude...and try to fix the things that are wrong.
[end rant...you are free to go about your usual business...]