Poor kid never had a chance.
He's been militarily-oriented since about three years old. He's already been in uniform for a few years: he rose to be his Civil Air Patrol squadron's First Sergeant.
I didn't think I'd ever be prouder than when he became a cadet NCO. I pinned it on, and as the squadron's guest, I led him and the other new cadet NCOs in reciting the NCO Creed.
But I bet I max out when I watch him take the Oath, and pledge his life to our country.
Every step of the way was with our encouragement, but we NEVER pushed him in that direction, and he made his own choices. It says something about his character that he wants to subordinate his own interests to serve something bigger, that he will submit to discipline for a greater good.
He's a good kid. Whatever part I or his mother played in that, he has decided for himself that he wants to help make the world a better place.