My brother (my baby brother!) is joining the Marines upon graduating High School next year. Our father is a Marine. He raised us with a strict and loving discipline not unlike a drill instructor. I can see where Ian would get the desire to make so monumental a decision. Our Dad and I are nothing but proud of him. Semper Fi my brother!
Semper Fi (short for Fidelis) is Latin for "Always Faithful". The Marine Corps motto, it exemplifies an attitude that is sorely lacking in our society. How many people, aloof and apathetic, do you meet every day who have no desire whatsoever to lay down their life in service to another? Whereas the Marines and every other branch of our armed forces are willing to die for--not just their "faceless" country--but their neighbor, those of us who stopped caring (did we ever?) won't lift a finger to help make someone's day better.
Jesus didn't ask us to die physically. He asked us to die to our selfishness. For more on this, see http://www.myutmost.org/06/0616.html