A user on TikTok recently posted that the minimum age to join the military should be raised to 25, because, in their words, “we don’t want kids fighting wars.”
That might sound noble on the surface, but stop and think about what they’re actually saying. If someone isn’t old enough at 18 to put on a uniform, carry a rifle, and stand post, then by that same logic they shouldn’t be old enough to do anything else we define as adulthood.
Start with the basics. If you’re too young to serve, then you’re also too young to vote in elections, sit on a jury, run for city council, sign a legal contract, pay taxes, or be tried as an adult in court. Those are the core responsibilities of citizenship, and they don’t get more serious than that.
Move up a step, and you get into the life-altering commitments. At 18 you can legally marry, divorce, or become a parent. You can sign a student loan or a mortgage that will chain you to decades of debt. You can take out credit cards, undergo major medical procedures, or make irreversible decisions like gender-affirming care or sterilization. If the argument is that a person can’t be responsible for defending their country before age 25, then none of these should be allowed either.
Then there’s the economic and career side. At 18 you can work full-time in high-stress, high-risk jobs. You can join a labor union and vote on contracts that affect hundreds of people. You can start a business, take on employees, and accept the tax and legal liability that comes with it. You can even purchase a firearm, with all the responsibility and potential consequences that entails.
We haven’t even touched lifestyle choices. Right now, 18-year-olds can move out of their parents’ homes, sign a lease, and live independently. They can enroll in college, gamble online, invest in crypto, or drive a two-ton vehicle down the interstate at 80 miles per hour. At 21, they can buy alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana. All of these decisions carry risk, some of them life-changing, and yet society allows what you call kids to accept these risks before 25.
Finally, consider personal autonomy and identity. At 18 you can consent to sex, get tattoos and piercings, start a YouTube or OnlyFans account, or dive headfirst into social media with all the reputational risks that come with it. You can own a pet, create online content, or join dating apps where predators are waiting to take advantage of inexperience.
If the standard is really that adulthood doesn’t begin until 25, then let’s go all the way. No elective plastic surgery. No firefighting or EMT work. No volunteering abroad. No serving in local civic groups. No hosting exchange students. If you’re too young to join the military, you’re too young for any of it.
Society is fine with sending an 18-year-old off to college, strapping them with six figures of student debt, and calling that a smart decision. That same 18-year-old can swipe credit cards, sign leases, get married, drive a two-ton vehicle at highway speeds, or undergo irreversible medical procedures. All of that is considered perfectly acceptable. Yet somehow, the one choice that provides a steady paycheck, housing, healthcare, and education benefits is the one we’re told they’re not ready for? That logic collapses under its own weight.
Let’s Do a Comparison
So what other viable options does an 18-year-old actually have if you take the military off the table? They could jump straight into full-time work, go to college, or head into a trade school program.
As I am not willing to abandon the military, I will first provide all the facts and figures for why going into the military is a good thing. Then, since college is the path most people hold up as the acceptable alternative, I will provide that track for comparison. Trade school in my opinion is equal to, and often better than, college, but for now the focus stays on military versus college to keep the picture clear. This comparison matters because it forces the question of which path actually gives a young adult the better start in life.
Military Path
Picture this. An 18-year-old from Mascoutah, Illinois, graduates high school on Saturday and ships out to Air Force Basic Training the following Tuesday. They have already sworn in through MEPS and signed a 6-year enlistment contract. This is not a dream scenario, it is the average track for an Airman.
- They begin as an E-3, earning about $32,800 a year in base pay, plus housing allowance and food allowance once they move out of the dorm at first duty station.
- They attend Technical Training (Tech School), gaining job skills that translate directly into civilian careers.
- By age 25, with steady raises and promotions to E-5, they will have earned around $360,000 in total compensation.
- Along the way, they have had full medical coverage, tax-free allowances, and steady housing support.
- They have been pushed and motivated to complete their Community College of the Air Force degree (Associate’s Degree), and most will take advantage of Tuition Assistance and CLEP tests to work toward a bachelor’s degree while still on active duty.
- At 25, they not only have money in their pocket, but also college credits, a degree in progress, technical skills, and real-world experience.
- Earned income since age 18: $360,561 total ($258,131 salary + $102,430 benefits)
- Total debt: zero.
- If they saved just 20 percent of their salary (not benefits), they would have over $51,600 in savings by their 25th birthday, not including interest or investments. That is money in the bank before most of their peers have even made their first student loan payment.
If they choose to leave the military at this point, they walk away with access to the Post-9/11 GI Bill for a fully funded college degree, VA home loan benefits with no down payment required, VA healthcare eligibility, and a résumé that shows years of steady employment, security clearances, and leadership experience.
College Path
Now take that same 18-year-old from Mascoutah, Illinois. Instead of shipping out to Basic Training, they start a minimum-wage job the Monday after graduation and head to the University of Illinois in the fall. This is the average track for a college-bound student.
- They begin working part-time during school, earning about $18,000 a year at Illinois’ minimum wage.
- They enroll full-time at the University of Illinois, with tuition, room, board, books, and living expenses adding up to about $39,600 per year.
- After four years, they have earned some spending money but taken on about $158,000 in student loan debt to cover the full cost of attendance.
- At graduation around age 22, they enter the workforce with an average starting salary of about $52,000 per year for Illinois college graduates.
- By age 25, with three years of experience and average annual raises, they have earned about $161,000 total since graduation.
- Earned income since age 18: $232,727 total ($72,000 college wages + $160,727 post-grad salary)
- Student Debt balance at 25: still around $158,000 in loans, plus interest now beginning to pile up.
- If they saved 20 percent of their income, they would have about $46,545 in the bank by age 25, but their debt burden still dwarfs that savings.
Unlike the military path, they do not walk away with tax-free allowances, housing support, medical coverage, or a GI Bill benefit. Their “benefit package” at 25 is a degree, a starting salary, and a massive loan balance that will take decades to clear.
This path does not set them up with immediate stability. By their mid-twenties, they have education, yes, but they also carry a crushing debt load, little savings, and limited real-world work experience compared to their military peer.
Which Path Looks Like a Better Start?
Why is it acceptable for an 18-year-old to sign on for crushing student debt that could take decades to pay off, but not acceptable for that same 18-year-old to sign a contract that provides steady pay, healthcare, housing, and a way out of poverty?
The military is not for everyone. No one is arguing it should be the universal choice. The point here is simple: if society trusts 18-year-olds with the responsibility of college debt, marriage, medical decisions, and all the other hallmarks of adulthood, then it cannot turn around and say military service is somehow too much.
This was a comparison, not a prescription. Trade school, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship, and full-time work are all legitimate paths as well. What matters is recognizing that the military remains one of the single greatest opportunities for young men and women to better their lives, and it deserves to be treated as such.
Either you believe adulthood starts at 18, with all the rights and responsibilities that come with it, or you admit the entire system is broken.