The military connection is very interesting. You're right, of course. Military training is very rigorous and, more importantly, consistent. Police training is a

The military connection is very interesting. You're right, of course. Military training is very rigorous and, more importantly, consistent. Police training is a wild hodgepodge and also sometimes basically non-existent. The other thing I have seen talked about in this context, and which I agree with, is that in the military you are trained as part of a larger unit and loyal to an even larger cause/organization. Police, on the other hand, are given a partner who they might serve with primarily for years almost-exclusivity. They become loyal to a very small group of people over their career and don't have the same esprit de corps as the military. To some degree I think they both attract dangerous/violent people who are joining for the wrong reasons. (The desire to hold power over others or just flat-out hurt people). But the Military is more likely to drum these people out, especially before the worst happens, where police don't.