What advantage is there to joining the military after highschool instead of going to college immediately after graduating?

Sgt Matt Medhat Joining the military first provides the following potential advantages:
1. A break from school
2. Time to mature and gain needed discipline
3. A better idea on what major to choose, along with a tight focus on obtaining that degree
4. The G.I. Bill

While I fully intended to eventually go to college, I joined right out of high school to:
-Gain a marketable skill
-Mature
-Save money for college
-Travel
-Get a better idea of what I wanted to study in college
-Take a break from school

I have zero regrets for that decision.

I think it's better to get a few years of experience in the private sector before entering military service. It gives you a real sense of the value that the military offers. The majority of kids who join the military come straight out of their parents houses, trading one parent for another. They don't realize they are starting a career. In my experience, people with prior service or prior civilian experience treat military service more as a profession with solid benefits and high school kids approach it as an adventure they are quickly disillusioned with.

However joining straight out of high school puts you way above your peers once you are a civilian. I left the Army at 21 and within less than a year I was assistant manager at a restaurant, a year later I was the shift lead at another restaurant. In the four years I spent after the military, I was constantly moved into leadership positions shortly after starting work at a new job because of the habits I picked up in the Army. Be on time. Do the job completely the first time. Fix problems before someone tells you to. Always say yes to a challenge.

Having been the kid that joins at 18 I realize kids really aren't capable of making life decisions at 18. Working with other prior service, I see that they approach the military as a career and a way to feed their families for the long term.