It’s very different. Yeshiva bochurim learn, but they are engaged in something which (hopefully) gives them pleasure. I was at the YU Yom HaZikaron tekes yesterday, and there was a video presentation and an ex-soldier (current student) who spoke. In both, the message was loud and clear- the army was something they felt was important for them to have done, something that they’re glad they did, but that was difficult both physically and emotionally. The guy who spoke broke down crying as he was describing pulling fellow soldiers’ bodies out of a blown-up house in Gaza. That is not a comparative experience to that of yeshiva bochurim, and requires its own kind of appreciation.
