Many "generals" turn to crime because it's largely compatible in the way things are achieved, types of rules in place, and the rewards (at least here in the Balkans).
Possibly speaks more of the culture I am surrounded with than "generals", but maybe not.
David Stirling, who is currently being lauded in a show on BBC One for creating the SAS, spent his later life running mercenary companies and, in one particularly ignoble episode, organised a coup against the British government.
There are many people struggling with far greater challenges in life and with far less support, but feeling directionless and without a purpose is a common struggle that many people go through.