I liked that scene a lot, but see where you are getting at.
If you ask me the real story starts too late. They have imo two options:
• Cut out the war scenes. Instead, Han escapes the Crime Syndicate at the starport but doesn’t enlist to the Army. How he meets Beckett and Chewie remains a mystery- it is assumed he joins their crew for a job. Simple, right to the point.
• Cut out the entire Corellia sequence, starting the film with an alternate opening reading: THE EMPIRE IS AT WAR, or something. Han starts a solider, and meets Beckett and Chewie. Qira’s relationship is explained through Han’s conversations with the other characters. Simple, right to the point.