Yes, they are all different. James isn’t ready for independent life, but he’s not going to be any more competent to follow directions and use tools (the requirements for working for a tree-service) just by being 11 months older.
Well, IIRC, we’re all ready for independent life before we’re ready for independent life. I think if most of us really understood independent life when we were 18, we would live in our mothers’ basements until at least - oh - 95.
The good thing about the military is that they find out your strengths, send you to school and advance you when you’re ready. Thirty years as a military wife, mom and grandma taught me that much!