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

If he has a shot of playing sports at one of the military academies then that is the route, he needs to go. Option two would be going to college and participating in ROTC.

I cannot overstate the massive difference in quality of life between officer and young enlisted servicemen. Young officers will live comfortably, where, as young enlisted will have to scrape every dollar.

Just make sure that he chooses a service/specialty that will have some usefulness in the private sector. If he’s very smart, he can attend a school of engineering and then work in the Navy as a nuclear officer on a submarine or carrier. They will then be set for life.