This is the core story of the science fiction story "Ender's Game". It seemed far fetched at the time.
In Ender's Game, the main character repeatedly tries to out smart the military and avoid his draft by becoming more and more brutal.
In this article, the military is portrayed as a group of pseudo drug dealers, seducing poor youths into a life of violence and war crimes.
Really, this article is fascinating in how it assumes that the reader will agree with it's unstated thesis that entering the military is the worst thing that could happen to a person.
They even have a hat-tip to Enders Game near the end.