I mean, I think we need to make a difference between cons here.

This young man seems to take most issue with the reimbursement for his service, he doesnt get dental, he still needs a second job, VA arent helping. But an unpaid hitman wasnt conned into killing someone, they were just conned into doing it for free.

And if they were instead tricked into doing it for some reason of idealism and the way the war was presented to them, you gotta consider when the bubble burst. If it burst while still deployed, did they stick their head in the sand for the sake of avoiding repercussions or securing their own future? That doesnt seem very valuable to a revolution, for example.

Edit: This essay is mainly about the idea of “brainwashing” or other state influence upon the civilian population, but I think a lot can apply to being “brainwashed” or otherwise influenced into military service, particularly the parts about the implicit understanding of personal gain that drives acceptance of propaganda.