[javadog]

My oldest son was in the Air Force and it absolutely made his career. He was in 6 or 7 years, got a great technical education (electronics) and parlayed that into a high paying job work for a surgical robotics company. He's way ahead of where he'd be if he'd gone the college route.

Stay away from the other branches. Either you get to live in a tent with people shooting at you (Army, Marines) or you get to puke your guts out in a tin can (Navy, Coast Guard.) I have nephews that though they had to be Marines (ego) and they indicated that it was the worst decision they ever made... Truthfully, the Navy can get you a good technical education as well, but you still have to live on a boat. In the Air Force, you can live in a house like a normal person, have evenings and weekends off. It's much less work and hassle...

JR