[boppo1]

Would you recommend it to a young man, given the state of the military today? I'm old for the military (31) but was seriously considering it around 24-26. But I just couldn't get past report after report of the military happily doing obviously stupid/harmful stuff to its own, like burn pits.

[weatherlight]

It's complicated. When I joined, I was single, dirt poor, and it was an obvious way to climb out of poverty.

I'm not sure what your situation is, have you considered the National Guard? It's still a massive commitment, but it might just scratch that itch you have there. If you love it, its very easy to go active duty

[InvaderFizz]

Joining is a young man's game. I saw many 25-35 year olds at Basic Training suffer broken bones and dislocated joints. Many more than the 18 year olds.

As to recommending it, I do not. There can be greatly positive outcomes, but the risk of injury or death is too high for me to recommend to anyone. Unless it is your way of escaping poverty, which is the story for many veterans, the risk/reward isn't there.

I'll leave you with what I tell everyone who asks me in real life: Do I regret it? Sometimes. Would I do it again? Absolutely not. I saw too many of my friends die in a bankers oil war, or a politicians re-election strategy. Take your pick, they're all equally valid.