Sure, someone who is depressed and looking for direction in life could be influenced by military advertisements, but your not mentioning the main objective of the recruitment/basic training process : to find qualified individuals that can be trained to become an asset to the military. Targeting people who obviously don�t belong in the military would be counterproductive to maintaining an effective military. Recruitment standards, in the US, have never been higher than they are right now. When I joined the USMC ten years ago, I had to get a waiver because I had a lewd conduct charge on my record (BTW, that charge was expunged shortly after the incident). Surly, someone with a history of depression would be �weeded out� as soon as there is knowledge of it.

Believe me, even if military advertisements are targeting �weak� people, all false impressions are quickly resolved the moment you arrive on base.