I can look at it objectively even though I was in the AF.
When I was growing up, the military was a punishment and often a last resort/ultimatum before judges sent kids to jail or for people who didn't have anything positive going on in their lives. I know of two "kids" in my high school that went into the Navy and Army because the judge in Stafford County told them they could go into the service or jail (for the record, both did really well for themselves by going in).

Also, growing up next to Quantico, I got to see a LOT of Marine Corp junior enlisted coming through training. In many cases, they weren't... Einsteins shall we say and weren't going to be qualified to do a lot of other things in life. Living next to MacDill AFB now, I've seen a ton of appreciation and sometimes the kids take advantage of it. I was sitting in a local burger joint when in walked a foursome of kids in uniform. Before they even got their drinks, a guy comes over and says "get whatever you want, men, it's on us over here" and points to his buddies nearby. As soon as he left, one of them said "I told you man, EVERY. TIME!"

Now we get to the pandering. The NFL specifically is over the top in my opinion. They've found a way to profit from their "salute to service" in that they're marketing their clothing now that has their made up ribbons and flags, digital camo prints, etc.

All that said, when I walk by a family in the airport and the spouse and kids are bawling as their service member goes off for a year or when I meet a father in a bar who tells me, a total stranger, how his son died in Afghanistan two years prior and pulls out a well worn picture of him in his desert BDUs, I'm humbled beyond words.

Whether you believe in the wars, the administrations or even the people in the military, there are some that are making extraordinary sacrifices out there.

Sorry for the length (TWHS).