I think you are attributing a lot of what goes on to choice - war has a poor track record in this regard and soldiers are often recruited very young and/or conscripted. Even the US recruits soldiers defined by the Convention on the protection of children (below 18). Schools are used for recruiting in many places.
This aspect of war is really sad - giving kids and young adults guns and sending them off to shoot people is widely glorified.
It is estimated that 70% of conflicts involve child soldiers, though any measurement is hard due variable definitions and the difficulty in measuring.
This aspect of war is really sad - giving kids and young adults guns and sending them off to shoot people is widely glorified. It is estimated that 70% of conflicts involve child soldiers, though any measurement is hard due variable definitions and the difficulty in measuring.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_on_the_Rights_of_...
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children_in_the_military
https://www.savethechildren.org/us/charity-stories/child-sol...