>In the "present day" of the story, its also explained that a "vet" is
>anyone who has been in government service, so its apparently grown to
>the point where its not quite government by bureaucracy.
The best Heinlein site I know is James Gifford's, at
where you can read James' excellent essay on Starship Troopers and
citizenship (based on a detailed reading of the text).
Damien Broderick