A bridge near my home now bears a plaque for a local (I believe the parents came from Peru); in my area it seems many Latinos gravitate towards the service (though I don’t know if they are from other countries or are born Americans). Can’t say the same for Brazilians or Haitians, though; I don’t think the military offers much to them back in their home countries, so they don’t even consider it here.
I think our government has to be wary of having the military wind up as a social engineering laboratory like the postal service, employing unemployables for the sake of wealth transfers...
I agree with you, hence my enthusiasm for conscription. The Romney kids will serve, as will the Sununu’s and Burr’s.