I think I was about 12 when my father had the inevitable chat about "what are you going to do?". I wanted to be an officer in the Armed Forces, which one as yet undefined. I made one thing very clear ... I didn't want to follow him into the daily trudge of commerce, with a world bounded by office walls*.
The CCF, and later ATC, polarised my Light Blue thinking, and my PPL (Flying Scholarship) refined it further. Sadly my eyesight wasn't up to scratch, but wait ... the Royal Navy took Helicopter Pilots with my acceptable/correctable deficiency. And so, after successful Selection processes, it was off to BRNC Dartmouth.
And
here is the point of my dribblings ... I wasn't in the least bit interested in the RN, just the opportunity to fly professionally in the Military. I have no idea how my apathy for things nautical, or the interestingly archaic customs and nomenclature, would have worked out, as to everyone's benefit I failed flying grading.
Shortly after I joined the RAF as an ATCO, thus fulfilling my original broadly-scoped ambition, and had a reasonably successful career which I actually enjoyed.
I went into the RN for completely wrong reasons, with no interest in the Navy per se. I have little doubt, even if I had been successful, I would have hated it. Without 100% motivation for
whichever Service, I submit anyone is on a hiding to nothing in the medium term (and the long term is unlikely to apply).
* That came later, during numerous tours at MoD, NATS and Group HQs
