I almost joined too -- the Marines though. Took the ASFAB and everything, recruiter told me I could pretty much pick any field available to a non-com. Ultimately, the basic training scared me off. That recruiter was hounding me pretty good too, he thought he bagged him a grunt.
In retrospect, I should have joined. I think it would have given me the discipline that I sorely lacked as a young adult, discipline that took me a couple of decades to learn on my own with considerable turmoil through trial-and-error.
Fortunately I had a brother-in-law who was just getting out of the USAF when I was enlisting. He actually convinced me, said it was just like any other job if you had kids etc..., which I did, as you lived off base and did not really have to do a lot of the BS stuff. Basic would have been tougher without his advice. All he said was "let them think they are getting to you, molding you, its a game, just let them think that, but inside you know better". It seemed to work. Actually, that kind of worked for IBM too.
I was in the USAF too, for a six-year enlistment. It definitely helped with my self-discipline. I agree with what you said about basic... you had to think it was all a game (which it was). Air Force basic training wasn't physically hard, but they constantly messed with your mind. I remember that one day, from sunup to sunset, all we did was stay in the barracks and make, then tear apart, and remake our beds... never to the TI's satisfaction. I was an older recruit (25); I handled the mental manipulation well, so there were a few 18- and 19-year-olds asking my advice on how to get through it.