Imagine being in the Air Force, as I understand you were. You were in Vietnam, and assigned to fly a C-130 which was spreading Agent Orange.

You and everyone else hated the badguy who was trying to spread communism and take over the world.

Your route took you over jungle, villages and rice paddies.

Would you refuse the mission, ruining your career, and opening yourself to the ridicule of your friends?

I doubt it. Not at 22 or 23, with the gung-ho attitude everyone had.

And yet using Agent Orange is chemical warfare. It is a WMD. While technically a herbicide, it's very hard on humans, and doesn't discriminate between men, women and children, combatants or civilians. And it is a war crime to destroy the food supply.

You have to trust your government that your service is in the public interest and your missions are necessary. When it turns out that is not true, a profound distrust of political leaders is created. Especially when one sees what they are willing to do, the misery they are willing to cause, to protect their careers.

I could go into "free fire zones", but this is turning out to be too long.

Arf (someone is going to argue with you, Bow, about "war crimes" without "war criminals". Well, scroom.)