Sometimes the services are a success, sometimes they're not.
difficult child 1 has an old school friend who stopped his medications so he could join the army. I think he was on medications for ADHD - this guy has a lot of problems.
In some ways, being in the army has helped him. However, from their point of view he's just not working out. They keep moving him around to find a placement that works for him. Last we saw him, he was a driver. I've been in the car with him - I don't envy his passengers! He drives like the car is on rails, doesn't slow for corners, was doughnutting on every turn... thought it was funny when I told him off.
I also saw him on one of his recent furloughs, heard how he talks to his mother. I'm sure a bit part of it was bravado in front of his mates, I remember easy child doing this when she was 12. You don't talk to your mother like that, for show, at 23. MAJOR maturity problems, which will be why he gets kicked out eventually.
I remember difficult child 1 taking great delight when he met one of their old teachers in the mall: "Hey, you remember Jay? Remember how scary he could be sometimes? Well he's joined the army, they've given him a gun and taught him to kill. Isn't that nice?"
Which sums it up, with this guy. He hasn't got the maturity to bear this sort of responsibility.
I know the army really pushes responsibility into their recruits, but as we know with difficult children, if they're not ready to learn...
Marg