How would military enlistment numbers be affected if trade school and college were prepaid?

Knowing many military enlistees join for lack of clear career and educational goals in high school, what if high school career counselors all did their jobs better and post-secondary education was fully funded (disregard how, for now)? How would this affect military enlistment stats?|||I don't doubt that the number of enlistees would go down, but probably not nearly as much as many people would like to think.





After many years in the military, the diversity of motivation surprised me. Some I know join for family tradition, or for patriotism. Some want to see the world. Some join because they want to do something meaningful and positive, to help people. Some join because all their friends joined. Some join because they are thugs and just want to kill people. Some, like myself, got it in their heads that they could be heroes and save people. Some do it because they're struggling financially and need the money. Some do it for the government benefits, like retirement, VA, educational benefits, after-service job opportunities. Some join (and, after I outgrew my romantic notions of glory, I stayed) for the job experience (I now do civil engineering and construction management). Some were even foreigners who joined in order to gain U.S. citizenship.





If I only listed a fraction of all the motivations people had for joining, I wouldn't be surprised.





Sure, money for education is an incentive, but it's just something to add to the pile. Most people have other reasons, often many. Myself, I didn't need the benefits and would have joined even if the military hadn't offer it.





Frankly, I'm more than a little worried about that "how" question. Especially if the kind of people who who don't understand human motivation are the ones trying to answer it.|||Student Loan Repayment sort of already does that.





I felt perfectly free to attend a private college and take a study abroad year, since I was already set on joining the Army with loan repayment and language school options. I just took out Federal student loans, which the Army repaid in full.|||I believe it would still be much the same. People want to be part of something larger than themselves. The military gives them the perfect environment for them to achieve not only personal goals but professional goals too.|||Why do you think everyone who enlists is a college reject? A lot of men and women already have degrees before they join. I went to a technical college before I joined and was a licensed hair dresser. I just didn't like doing hair and wanted something different...and I wanted to see the world.





A lot of people join for many reasons. Education and training is a big part of it...but even if school was free or available there will be a good number of people still wanting to join.





There may be a few who want to go to school instead, but I think that there will still be enough people wanting in....it is a career choice a lot of people actually like and enjoy. I know that is hard to believe...If I didn't have physical problems I would still be in.





Note: I was ENLISTED and I am not "confused nor disenfranchised" and saw an oppertunity in the Navy...and frankly I am dishearted at the assumption that I had no other alternitive as you put it...The military is not for everyone...but believe it or not most people who join would join anyway. There are a lot of people who actually enjoy the work. Why is that so hard to understand? I never became a commisioned officer either...and there are plenty of people with college degrees who stay enlisted.