(01-01-2020, 12:05 AM)TrivialPursuit Wrote:

(12-31-2019, 10:35 PM)americus 2.0 Wrote: That's not true. I was 20 when I went in and there were a few other girls in my boot camp unit who were 20-21. 

I don't know their reason for going in later. Mine was family stuff that needed to be taken care of before I felt I could enlist. I'd always wanted to serve so....

And that's about 30% of recruits.

The rest are all fresh out of High School that don't know what they want to do in life or just want to get the hell out of town.

Dude, most people don't know what they want to do with their lives until they're in their 30s. The military is not the worst option for most. It teaches discipline and accountability, how to cope in stressful situations, the importance of fitness, camaraderie, how to adapt to people, places and things at any given time, etc. And that's all just in boot camp. 

I've always felt the youth of this country would benefit from a 2 year enlistment minimum (not counting boot camp and the training for the actual job), straight out of high school. I was never a "bad kid" or anything but I needed direction and confidence moving into adulthood and I feel it was a great experience for me, plus I'd always wanted to serve. Many kids benefit from playing sports in high school and already have direction and confidence but not everyone has those opportunities.

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