Quick hit. Is the military the largest socialist program in America?

 This is a quick hit.

On another blog thread some of my readers are calling the military the largest socialist program in the US.

Their rational?

The military provides free medical and post secondary education.

They're missing the point.

The military isn't the largest socialist program in America.  What it is, is one of the last remaining bastions of patriotism.  What do I mean?  There are few other jobs that require you to be away from your family for long periods of time, have the inherent risk of death or serious injury attached and demand a specified time period of service without the option (mostly) to leave the organization because of dissatisfaction.

Providing medical and education benefits to those individuals isn't socialism.  It's the least that can be done.

I have great readers.  I disagree with them on a variety of issues.  On this one we disagree. But it's worse than that.  I vigorously disagree with them.  In my opinion they totally missed the boat with their thought process and attempted to make a cheap point that was invalid from the start.