“I’m not anti-U.S. military by any stretch”
If you think they are “serving the regime to control” and and overarching stating of what they do is “propaganda”, that would indicate otherwise.
Put another way, how long would the US survive without a military? How many people would die in the US, within it’s borders, without the threat of repercussions? Right now, if a thousand people died due to a foreign military, that would be the biggest piece of news for the next 5 years. That’s how safe we are.
Without a military, we would all be at risk every day.
I’m not a fan of some things the government and by extensions the military have done, but if you don’t think they are vital for many of the things you take for granted, you should look at the world news for comparison. We live in a bubble created by being the largest economy and military in the world.
Don’t let the first world problems blind you to the fact that literally millions of people ensure you don’t have to worry about your home being attacked by anything more threatening than someone who wants your money or to convert you to their god with pamphlets instead of guns.