You do poorly at kicking ass & making bank in civilian life. This is a tricky subject, of course (any statistics from 2001 and on are basically worthless because all the suicides and whatnot from Iraq & Afghanistan trash the data), and there are all sorts of correlation/causation problems (maybe the people who join would do poorly in the first place - these days, most of the graduating class of Harvard heads to Wall Street and not officer training).
But if you have any citations to the contrary - that veterans do better than one would predict from their pre-military life - I'd be glad to hear them. Conscientiousness is as important as IQ, and any intervention which genuinely improves either is really valuable and ought to be well known.
Don't confuse work ethic with motivation. I know a number of successful veterans who are kicking ass and making bank in civilian life. I also know a ton who are just 'retired' and enjoying their low-key life with friends and family.
You can't switch from studies and causation/correlation to just stating without citation that they suck at kicking ass.
What are you saying that we do poorly at?
Your comments are more "confounding" to me than any war situation I was ever in.