[Nyororin]

I don't really have any strong ties to America, although I was born there. It has been far too long since I lived there and I have never lived there as an adult. It sort offers assigned to the "world of childhood" in my psyche...

That said - I still do feel that it is proper to give soldiers respect.
Not because I support what they are doing or have done. Not because I want them to kill. Not because I support the decisions of the US government.

But rather because a) they have volunteered for a position that takes them away from home and family, b) they have basically volunteered their life, and c) someone needs to do the job, and I do not want it to be me.

Going to fight in other countries, etc, is a government decision. Soldiers themselves are necessary for defense. They are not the ones who should receive the criticism for the choices made by the government. As a soldier - a necessary position for which they have volunteered - they have no real choice but to follow orders. I don't think their personal philosophy plays much into it.
Even if they are doing something they personally do not agree with, I still feel they deserve respect at the very least for volunteering.

This goes for all volunteer military forces, not just that of the US.