There really is no life like it

Regardless of the challenges and stresses the CF training system is enduring right now, recruiting is up. Way up over last year, about 40% up.

And it seems to be up for the right reasons, with fewer "man in the green flannel suit" types, and more people genuinely looking for a job with more than the average amount of adventure.

But the motivation to risk your life runs deeper than playing war, even when you're only 17. While listening to CBC Radio, Mr. Halloran got the news that six more soldiers had died in Afghanistan. “We have to stay,” he says, “otherwise that means nothing.”

When asked about news footage that he has seen from Afghanistan, he doesn't describe gunfights and tanks. He recalls images of Canadian soldiers helping neglected children in an orphanage.

“I never wanted to sit behind a desk, not even at school,” he says. “This will be a challenge. It's going to push me to the limits, and I'm going to see if I can handle it.”

His parents have had three years to get used to the idea of their son enlisting: He has been talking about it since he was 14 years old, and itching to sign up, his mother Nancy says, since he turned 17 this past winter. His parents refused to give their permission until he graduated.

When Ben joined the cadets, Ms. Halloran says, “we thought he would grow out of it, but the desire got stronger every year.” It was a challenge for a mother who had never let her son own a gun when he was little and a father who had hoped he might one day take over his business.

They tried to suggest a trade. They pointed out any news about the hazards in Afghanistan. But he would come home after a weekend of sleeping in the cold on cadet training with “a fire in his eyes.” They knew they couldn't change his mind.

Now, Ms. Halloran comforts herself knowing that he will be properly trained and that it will be many months before he goes anywhere.

“I'm proud of him, of the fact that he wants to defend his country. When I read the paper, of course, my gut clenches. But there's nothing I can do to stop him,” she says.

“He has a lot of courage. I just put him in God's hands.”

This seems to be a theme of the stories listed in the article: a kid who seems to be looking for something, but doesn't know what; parents who try to dissuade him or her; a realization that military life is a calling.

The CF isn't for everyone - in the end, it wasn't for me. But for those square pegs who find their own personal square hole in the Forces, there's nothing better.