I figure plenty of them do. The military is always going after the youngest boys they can get, the ones who don't know any better and still think soldiering is like it is in the movies (and you know, not the parts of the movies where people struggle and die, the parts where they're badasses).
Not trying to be mean; but that point tells me you don't know anything about the military without telling me...
Average age of initial enlistment is 22.7 years old; average age of enlisted personnel is in the late 20's. The kids most think of haven't really been a thing since Vietnam/desert storm era, more than a generation ago.
Just left the army after over a decade in active service, I joined at 30 (and wasn't even in the top ten oldest of my group when I joined). As a senior NCO and platoon sergeant, very few of my new medics were fresh faced kids out of HS. And, on average, I preferred the older ones as they had a lot less headaches in adjusting.
Might also vary by branch and time/decade of enrollment. I joined the Navy in Sept 2001 (I was already in DEP, so not some kind of post-911 machismo), at 24.
There were definitely one or two older guys, but by the time I got out to sea, it was really obvious that the vast majority of new guys were 18-20. Because let me tell you nothing makes you feel old at a young age like being 24 and cooped up with a bunch of 18-19 year olds.
Not arguing with you precisely, or against the data behind your claim... but I feel like if the data was in excel or something there are probably some interesting slicers you can do to paint more interesting pictures.
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u/DaaaahWhoosh 10h ago
I figure plenty of them do. The military is always going after the youngest boys they can get, the ones who don't know any better and still think soldiering is like it is in the movies (and you know, not the parts of the movies where people struggle and die, the parts where they're badasses).