re: Why do certain professions deserve praise?

I have served 17 years (so far) in the military and I have no particular need for your praise, nor do I claim any moral superiority. However, on whether military members have other options for employment in executive positions, you are wrong on two counts.

First, some like myself were fortunate enough to have a college education prior to entering service and quite a few obtain a masters along the way. Had I elected to go the commercial route, I have no doubt I would have had other options.

I assume by your comment though that you are talking about the enlisted service members. Admittedly, most do not enter with a degree. They join for a thousand individual reasons, but recognize that they also had other options. Even if they are placed in a non-combat role, most are still subject to long hours, forced cross-country moves, and if you stay in long enough, multiple deployments. Yes, they receive solid pay, good medical benefits, and the Post-9/11 GI Bill, but there are easier ways to get a future education. After separating, many go on to leverage that GI Bill into very successful second careers.

Bottom line, you don’t need to praise anyone because they don’t need you to in order for them to be proud of what they do. You should however simply keep your opinion of their potential to yourself, because it’s a terrible take.