Among the handful of big military contractors that survived the post-Cold War consolidation of the defense sector, none has performed better than General Dynamics.
Long gone are the days of spartan dormitories and cold showers kids in the private sector now have fabulous science labs and sports facilities, and access to a huge range of subjects and activities.
When the Cold War ended, the top tier of the sector consolidated into a handful of military conglomerates that do business with all the military services in both hardware and services.
Strongly influenced behind the scenes by the Crown family of Chicago, which owned a controlling block of shares, the company sold off most of its military businesses when the Cold War ended in the biggest fire sale the defense sector had ever seen.
With veterans of the cold war, often from elite military units, flocking to join the private sector in both Russia and the West, the corporate-security business can bring together some unlikely bedfellows.