Yes the "MIC" is just a symptom or manifestation of human nature.

Actually the MIC performs a useful purpose: defense and global stability. But it provides vast opportunity for the unscrupulous to abuse it from the inside.

Accept for the useful purpose part, you have described big government perfectly. It always amazes me that the big government proponents are the ones most worried about business and the military plotting to fleece us. But they have no concern whatever with socialized medicine.

Many aspects of government spending can, in theory, be directly and explicitly accounted for. The MIC is unusual in that defense requirements are usually difficult to define in the first place. Once you settle on goals and requirements, the systems and force structure needed to fulfill that are equally hard to define (unless you have perfect intel on enemy caps and intentions)...plenty of opportunity for snake oil and fear-mongering.

As opposed to fighting the war on poverty? Or improving education? How unemployment benefits for 99 weeks, followed by going on disability. No snake oil salesmen there.

I've had the unique experience of serving 4 years as an enlisted Army Guardsman, then another 4 years as a Army Guard warrant flying helicopters, followed by 12 years in the active Air Force and now 1 year in the AF Reserves. The old paradigm of the Guard/Reserve is its a bunch of guys doing the min and getting paid for it. Certainly I've met those who joined just for such reasons.

But all of the Guard/Reserve units I've been in had many more people who were dedicated to getting the job or mission done. I know of many Guard units that can outperform active duty units.

The AD, in my opinion, is obsessed with the "process" and regs. It's almost like they'd be ok if you failed at the mission just so long as you followed the process...likewise if you succeeded but bent a few regs or went outside the process, they hammered you.

Most Guard/Reserve units feel less adhered to the strict processes or blind faith in regs and will often invent their own way to get things done or bend rules where it makes sense, and looking from both an AD and reserve viewpoint that's the thing that makes the AD guys upset the most.

As a Reserve O-6 told me once, "we have to follow the same rules as the AD, but we do so in a more relaxed manner".

Also, consider there HAS to be some cultural differences between AD and the Guard/Reserve, because whether you like it or not, Guardsman and Reservists have other lives to contend with aside from just their military careers.

A key cultural difference between AD and the guard (at least AF), is that a guard guy is there because he wants to be. They signed up specifically for that unit, that base, and that airframe. And for they majority, they have no commitment to be there, it's by choice.. They build long term relationships with their fellow guardsmen and know each other for years.

The majority of active duty pilots, however, are locked into a commitment they can't get out of, are randomly put wherever around the world, a lot of times in airframes or even god forbid, staff jobs, that they don't get to choose (can anyone say UAV's at Cannon) with people that are constantly revolving in and out, and are constantly under the threat of careerist leadership that are more concerned about auditioning for the next job than trying to excel and take care of people at their current one.

I guess what I'm saying here is, guard guys -- go easy on us AD types! You're living the aviatior's dream and a lot of us are just waiting for our chance to eject from this death spiral.

You bring up very valid points. However, realize that a lot of us Guard guys came from AD and learned how to adapt to the cultural differences of being a citizen/airman. I'm not gonna lie and say transitioning from the AD world to the Guard is easy. It requires us prior AD types to throttle back a bit and realize that we are not in this unit as stepping stone, rather we will be working here with the same folks for a very long time. Problems arise, when some AD folks transition to the Guard, don't adapt to the cultural differences, and try to impose AD careerist ways on us Guardsmen. We don't take too kindly to guys who will use folks they will work with for about 15-25 years as promotion material because that's how they did it on AD. When I left AD, I treated everyone in the unit I joined with a great sense of gratitude and kindness. I wasn't kissing a$$, I just didn't want to step on the toes of people I will be working with for a very long time.

Very very interesting.

..your avatar is, indeed.