re: HS aged son has expressed interest in joining the military

USMC vet - two tours in Iraq.

I do not regret it, but do not recommend it. I signed when I was 17 and that decision set the course of the rest of my life, for better or worse. If your son has a brain in his head and has good career options, he should focus on that. I came from an educated family with money. Most of the guys I served with did not. They were there out of necessity. I was there because I was a 17 year old dumbass with delusions of grandeur. Well I found plenty of that and then some. All at a price both physically and mentally.

But that Semper Fi tho...