On your Point 4, I would argue that the public are more aware of the military than they were 10-15 years ago. They also seem to now sensibly disconnect the individual serviceman (oops -serviceperson) from the policies they are supporting. This is very different from the case with NI operations.
Reasons:
- Greater use of reservists who return to the "real world" (sic) after deployment.
- Better immediate trauma care for wounded individuals, leading to more surviving "disabled" veterans in the public eye.
- As a subset of the above, Special Olympics (or whatever they are called now) and - particularly - Prince Harry and the Invictus Games.
Evidence:
- Amongst other things, greater availability of military discounts (even for "veterans"); two I've experienced recently was a chain restaurant which sounds like it is run by the present and previous Popes; and a card shop which isn't run by an ex-POTUS. Both give 20% which is not to be sneezed at - just don't tell Milady T I got her Valentine card at a disount!