 "Starship Troopers" is a coming-of-age story about duty, citizenship, and the role of the military in society.The book portrays a society in which suffrage is earned by demonstrated willingness to place society's interests before one's own, at least for a short time and often under onerous circumstances, in government service; in the case of the protagonist, this was military service.Later, in "Expanded Universe", Heinlein said that it was his intention in the novel that service could include positions outside strictly military functions such as teachers, police officers, and other government positions.