Absolutely. As one of those kids who was at that crossroads in his life at 17ish and worried about loans/life/direction/etc, passing by a recruitment booth at high school stands out as a memory to me. So I sympathize to a degree with people who drank the imperialist koolaid or simply wanted a way out of financial stresses or both.

That said, I wouldn't begrudge someone in Yemen or Iraq if they consider the troops irredeemable scum.