Just to hammer this home a bit more, I knew a guy who joined the army. I met him after he went AWOL. When he went into the recruiter's office, they asked him if he had any open warrants out for his arrest because they couldn't recruit anyone with a criminal record. He said he did, then they said, "oh, actually, we can help you with all that, don't get caught before we ship you out."
He was just trying to keep himself out of jail. That's not supposed to happen, but it does. IIRC it was on a drug charge, which, also, they're not supposed to take anyone who tests positive for weed... but they also just tell you how to prepare for a drug test.
Another friend joined because she wanted to be part Army Corps of Engineers. A good chunk of the folks I went to school with joined the military after graduation because the other choices were working at the saw mill or working at the canary. If you join the military, you get to go to college. (Or you get to stay out of jail... as long as you don't go AWOL.)