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A lot of Americans in the military and political elite genuinely seem to think that they need to wage at least one major war every ten years lest they risk becoming too soft. They compare it to exercising and staying fit. "If you don't use the military they lose their edge over time."
To a normal person that just wants peace this mentality is hard to understand but this is how a lot of these people think.
playing eu4 and watching my military tradition tick down during peacetime and then declaring war on an OPM in africa just to feel something
Also all the wars we keep fighting to stay in shape are against unorganized tribal groups with 60 year old aks and no air support. Turns out when it's an actual army we can't even carve out a foothold.
It'd be like saying you gotta stay in fighting shape for boxing so you head down to the local pre-k to roundhouse some toddlers and still somehow manage to break your foot in the process.
I've known of people that would go around instigating fights on the street late at night to keep their skills up, the US is a drunk and racist street hooligan.