I can only speak as a 76 year old Brit who was a teenager right after WWII. In those far off days there was conscription in the UK..there was no dodging it..you had to do 2 years service in the armed forces.
The first night I spent in the RAF barracks I was surrounded by what used to be hard faced punks weeping for their mommy's. 2 years in the forces smartened most of the hard cases up and even turned them into normal civilised citizens.
I know this will never happen again..but whichever way you look at it..it worked. A 2 year armed forces stint focuses the mind amazingly!!
Old Specks and Teeth really did you guys a favor?