[replicatorblog]

I 100% agree with this advice. I think one challenge is that now that the military has essentially become a soldierly caste in American culture, and one that's heavily concentrated in specific geographies, many don't know about what's involved with a career in the armed forces. It's not for everyone, but it would likely be a better decision for some major chunk of the population who'd otherwise flail in a college environment.

[learc83]

>some major chunk of the population

There's about 1.3 million active service members.

There are more than 200 million Americans of military age.

I wouldn't call that a major chunk.

Even if you look at the number of people who've served for any length of time at all, the number is very low. It's not a viable option for a significant portion of the population, because personel numbers are capped.