The citizen-soldier (or “yeoman farmer”) is still our cultural ideal. The model in the West has always been the early Roman army, farmers tilling the soil in peacetime and then responding to the call of duty when enemies threatened the Republic. When the struggle is over, they return to their homes and their loved ones and try to get on with their lives.
Wars begin, men join up, and they fight for the duration.
We traditionally think of soldiering as a temporary occupation.
