it's not the unit, it's the timing

the first group all joined during peacetime. desert storm lasted like 5 minutes, it's unlikely any of them joined because of or during that little war

post-9/11 soldiers were a different breed, at least for awhile. they were guys who joined knowing they were going to go to war, and they wanted to see action. they weren't afraid of fighting, they wanted to fight and would've been disappointed if they didn't see action