Sadly, you’re right.
I was mobilized for Operation Desert Shield/Storm, ‘90 - ‘93. That was a SHORT one, though all part of the whole.
Thank God I had Stormin’ Norman as my General! :)
The old ways of fighting wars are gone and we live in the age of international law and the United Nations.
Its been about policing the world ever since Korea and those who wanted to win wars like MacAruthur got fired for their ideas.....
Eisenhower’s notion of a military industrial complex is not a way out far fetched thing either. The money flows into politicians and the contracts flow out to the defense industry.