There are literally millions of ex-Navy Seals, Green Berets, Delta Operators, Rangers, Force Recon out there than there ever was in the military since the beginning of our nation.
I have personally talked with one person who claims he was in Special Forces. He wasn't lying. What he didn't disclose is that he was attached to Special Forces as an Army Cook.
Yeah, grow a beard, put on a lumberjack jacket and jeans and voila, you are ex-something. You choose your fantasy, army cook. 
There are lots of jobs in the military, both active duty and civilian, that provide support for the warfighters.
Still, many of those positions may require mobilization with the operators. That means they have the same training -- perhaps to a lesser degree -- as the operators.
That training might include jump school, chem warfare, survival, firearms, etc. If they can potentially find themselves close to or in areas where there's fighting, they also need the capability to defend themselves and others.
As a computer, communications and intel officer, I wasn't running into battle, but I was very close to the front lines supporting air operations for the AWACS mission crews. That means I have more training in military-related functions than someone who never leaves the US. One of those functions was the destruction of classified material should we be overrun, which meant using gasoline and thermite grenades to destroy the magnetic tape library and all hard drives in our deployable computer van.
Point being: don't judge someone you think is "just a cook."
