In the army, the only thing that would get you respect was strength. No amount of bootlicking would earn respect. No amount of hard work would earn respect. No amount of good looks would earn respect. Strength and strength alone gave soldiers their respect. After all, it was their strength which set them apart from normal civilians. Where a normal civilian’s shirt would be hiding a beer gut, one could expect a solid set of abs beneath a soldier’s uniform. Perhaps it was with their washboard abs that their uniforms could be kept so clean in the first place, what with the fabric constantly rubbing up against their solid mountains of muscle mass grinding up and down in their exercise drills. Sweat and musk would make for good detergents in cleaning those uniforms out on those washboard abs.
