Oh Lord! I bet your dad was fit-to-be-tied when he found out you were joining the Army!
He was really quite supportive. I think he was just amazed that I would want to extend my military life after living it since birth. I mean, I WAS your typical teen with no goals or ambitions, though I was done with High School by age 17 due to him hiring ruthless tutors for us as we traveled around.
But, he said he wasn't paying for college and that it was "18 and out" and the military was my "out."
I've never regretted ONE DAY of the 20 years I served. I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat...if my knees would let me, LOL!
He was very, very smart. He could always make me think that things were "my" idea when they were really his all along. And the fact that I later married a Navy SEAL was cause for MAJOR celebration, I tell you what, LOL! That Fairy Tale Wedding Dad paid for was simply amazing. And he was also there to pick up the pieces when that marriage fell apart years later. :(
The nut didn't fall far from the tree. He still gets his way to this day, no matter what...the loveable jerk, LOL! :)