I think that hits the nail pretty well. The handful of older adults I know who went into the service did it for those exact reasons, wanted to fly, wanted to go

I think that hits the nail pretty well. The handful of older adults I know who went into the service did it for those exact reasons, wanted to fly, wanted to go to college on the GI bill, wanted to become a surgeon but couldn't afford medical school, etc. I think part of this modern situation, is that the armed services have done an amazing PR job in the past decade and a half. We've gone from the notion of a citizen soldier to this warrior notion. You're no longer doing your duty, conscripted and fighting an evil empire. You're joining up to be a warrior! Something that just came into my head is that, out of my male friends, all but a two went Army/Marines with one going Air Force and the other going Navy, and my male friend who went Navy wanted to be (and is) a dental tech. A cursory check of Facebook confirms this, and interestingly, of the women I know from school who went into the service, all but one went Navy (the odd woman out went Marines). I think that notion of "Adult Scouts" and a stepping stone still applies to the Navy, Coast Guard, and Air Force to large part, no airmen or sailor is doing night raids in an Afghan village, you might get someone aiming for a Corpsman or a forward observer, and of course SEALs or Pararescue, but those are a small part of those branches.