Citizenship is only available to those whom military veterans deem worthy of citizenship, and this doesn’t include other dangerous, hard services like the merchant marines. However, Johnnie describes the actions of the merchant marines and civilians in the bar—loudly insulting the recruits, trying to provoke them, and then dishonorably attacking them from behind—as if they illustrate the lack of discipline and virtue inherent in anyone who isn’t in Federal Service, suggesting that they’re barred because they don’t have the right morals. In contrast, the recruits behave with discipline, refusing to become upset in the face of the foursome’s taunts.