Well, since there's a scarcity of jobs, it's one way to trim the work force -
and high school is plenty
education for 18-year-olds - now they can go out and learn to maim and kill.
Not to belabor this too much but we have to report them in 8th grade
unless their parent writes to oppose. The US is one of only a few
nations refusing to join the international ban on child soldiers because
"If we wait until they're 18, they won't sign up." So our age remains
15-16 with waivers for 14 to begin training.