OT
Re #93: But 'Russki' isn't any shorter than 'Russe(n),' whereas 'Ami' is a lot shorter for headlines than 'Amerikaner' or 'amerikanisch.' I'm prepared to believe it's largely neutral in that context.
Though yes, it can also have a patronizing overtone, as everyone is aware who had the misfortune to have been here when that topic was thrashed to death at exhausting length in previous threads (which may explain why there is so much resistance to seeing it rise again from the tomb). I would imagine that if there were a word like 'Deutschi,' it wouldn't necessarily come across as quite as innocuous as 'Omi.'
Though on the other other hand, I would also imagine that raising a big fuss about 'Ami' as if it were a deadly insult isn't that likely to improve the image of Americans abroad, or motivate German speakers to change their usage on your behalf.
As for attitudes toward the military, I'm in between on that too. It seems fair to observe that many Americans, not just Texans, have a more positive image of soldiers and the military than do many Central Europeans -- even if gung-ho patriotism is indeed often more pronounced in TX than in many places. (Though not actually so much so in Houston, which like other major cities is very reliably liberal, if not quite as much so as Austin, which is comparable to Madison, albeit with more traffic and less snow.)
But either way, you can register an objection to overly sweeping statements without jumping straight down someone's throat. Like CM2DD (whom it's great to see around), I find it really tiresome when every other thread seems to degenerate into a personal conflict. It doesn't have to be that way, and it didn't use to be as bad as it has been lately.
/OT
Back to boot camp. For me it doesn't have anything remotely to do with weight loss or fitness -- much less brides or manager trainees! -- and only very occasionally or tangentially with teenagers with disciplinary problems. (That would be military school instead, like one young Mr. Trump long ago.)
It does have to do with standard military basic training, which is harsh, exhausting, and muddy, and involves unquestioning obedience, enforced by the drill instructor or drill sergeant,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drill_instructorwho as a stereotype is known for near-absolute power and brutal, demeaning treatment intended to winnow out those who aren't tough enough to take it.
That might have some things in common with a concentration camp, but there's a huge difference in association, in that boot camps aren't intended as means of genocide. As others have said, 'camp' doesn't automatically evoke Lager. Boot camp usually takes place at a normal army base, as far as I know.