Why the boys don't logically join the Navy (being merchant sailors already) is left to the viewer to ponder. With the advent of WW2 five years later, however, both characters would be busy supporting the war effort---in the Navy.
The boys almost act like they're pitching to a casting director rather than wanting to join the army.
One of a number of Popeye shorts that were sent to Asia in the 1980s to undergo a redraw and colorization process.