Sage words Danny, as ever. Your brother in law sums it up beautifully (or did rather, it isn't only war that is terrible...).
As to MPN's PMC, I doubt it has anything to do with the Officer's Mess or Cheques, but I am only guessing. The real frontier these days between Service generations is the acronym. They change with ever increasing frequency.
plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose
Not necessarily!