Air Force or Navy?

[rattlsnak]

My son graduates college this semester and out of nowhere he is all gung-ho about joining the military. My dad was Air Force and his cousin is currently in the Navy so he is getting it from both sides.
Any pro's and con's to each, or questions we should ask? (beside the basic - one is at usually at sea and could be gone 6+ months at a time if on a ship vs the possibility of being stationed overseas for a longer time in the AF.) We are going to talk to a recruiter this week for each branch.

[Don Ro]

Sounds like patriotism runs in your family, somewhat.
Hmm...my first thought is, who's more concerned about him being away for a good length of time?
You or your son?
What are his plans for either branch? Is he leaning toward flight school?
Best of good luck to him. I have nothing else to offer...pro or con.

[theFONZ]

First, what does he want to do? His choice of job may dictate one or the other, but they mostly have similar career fields.

Second, where does he want to go? Air Force bases are smaller and spread out everywhere. Navy seems to cluster around certain areas with a couple exceptions.

Standard of living will be close with either, but I'd put the nod to the Air Force as the best.

I'm in the AF, but I've spent tons of time with all services. I've spent time at various Army, Navy, and Marine installations and worked side by side with all of them extensively. With all that joint experience, I'd still choose the AF in a heartbeat. That's just me though; everyone's personality and experiences are different.

[sc_rufctr]

NAVY all the way... It really is the premier service. (I'm ex Aust Army)

He'll see the world, make life long friends and the work ethic he'll be taught is second to none.

[JJ 911SC]

Originally Posted by sc_rufctr

NAVY all the way... It really is the premier service. (I'm ex Aust Army)

He'll see the world, make life long friends and the work ethic he'll be taught is second to none.

+1, did 24 years in, another 18 supporting it.

Retiring for the second time in 14 months...

[911_Dude]

Air Force for "quality of life". He may not be thinking of family now, but one day he may want to get hitched. Six months at sea is not optimum for family. Thats not a jab to Navy folks. There are tons of great Navy families out there. But if you had a choice, why? Career field also is a big factor.

[onewhippedpuppy]

I've worked with plenty of both, great guys all. The best description of differences I've ever heard was this: the Air Force has a little book of what they CAN do, anything else is off limits; the Navy has a little book of what they CAN'T do, everything else is up to their discretion. It always seemed like the USAF guys were very straight laced and by the book, while the USN guys were much more independent thinking.

[Seahawk]

As others have said, the choice really comes down to what he wants to do and does he have the qualifications (grades, test scores, physical attributes) to do it? Getting into a commissioning pipe-line can be very difficult.

Also, and most importantly, what are the needs of the service he wants to gain a commission in?

If he wants some real world Navy perspective, my best buddy has three sons that are in the Navy, one just finished his first sea tour in my old squadron, the other is just getting to his first squadron and the other is a senior at the Naval Academy.

They can provide a fresh, real time perspective.

PM if you'd like and I can provide an electronic introduction. I recommend he find the same for the Air Force.

One tidbit, the cruise length is now eight plus months underway and that is causing a lot of heartache with the JO's. That may change (or have already changed) but he needs to ask.

[GH85Carrera]

My dad went through that same decision when he was about to graduate college. He had done a full tour of ROTC and he could pick which service to join. He went to each recruiter and it was quickly down to just Navy or Air Force. Discussing it with an Air Force friend he realized 6 months on a ship (in 1952 era) or flying home to sleep in his own bed most nights was an easy choice for him.

He spent 26 years in the USAF as a pilot. The Air Force did indeed steal my daddy for over a year during the capture of the Pueblo. He was stationed in South Korea during that mess. That was his only remote duty where the family was not allowed. He did have many TDY deployments but those were usually just a few weeks or so.

He visited just about every non communist country on the planet except Australia. He was actually the Pilot in Command about to taxi to the end of the runway when that mission was canceled. He was the first person to land a C-124 on Pango Pango. He visited virtually every island with a military presence in the Pacific.

[BK911]

I spent 3 years in the navy. After boot camp and school, probably at sea >75% of the time.
You see the world, but most of it from the deck of a ship as you float on by.
Wouldn't do it again.

[chuckr]

I was Navy, 4 years. USS Oklahoma City/Commseventhfleet staff.
Only at sea for a couple of weeks at a time,except Vietnam....
Had a great time,saw lots of really nice places,couple of not so nice places also.
I was a Radioman. Was using computers in 1975 ! also worked on microfilm(top secret)
stuff ! when I got out, went to work for Bell&Howell ( Microfilm company)
I still work on microfilm today !
In short, the skills I learned in the Navy are still serving me well !

[patz]

Coast Guard.

[MRM]

He should also consider the opportunity for promotion if he wants to make the military his career. In either service he will be competing with the academy grads, and to some extent pilots. The Air Force's mission is obviously flying, so some people think that anyone other than pilots are second class citizens. My understanding is that the Navy has more promotional opportunities for non-pilots.

Otherwise, I think it comes down to which service has a position open for him and which positions fit his skills and education.

[Cajundaddy]

My family was Navy so I am biased but they all came out with good experiences whether as pilots or deck hands.

Before I jump in I might want to know who the next Commander in Chief will be. Our current administration has done a pretty good job at alienating and marginalizing our most experienced officers.

[Nickshu]

Navy all the way! I proudly served 11 years USN so I might be biased.

[Evans, Marv]

He needs to look at what he wants to be trained in and pick the branch offering the most and best in that field. The second thing to always think about is to pick something that he can make a living doing after he gets out or lead to employment in an upwardly mobile field.

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

As others have said, the choice really comes down to what he wants to do and does he have the qualifications (grades, test scores, physical attributes) to do it?

^^

[kimlangley7]

First consideration >> what does the son want to do?? what kind of job?? What is his degree in??

One can not just "join" the service as an officer >> as as he just decided to join the military > unlikely he was in ROTC > so when you join > you are entering as an enlisted person... different services have different OCS procedures... maybe he want to stay enlisted... [my oldest son joined the Army as an 18X >> Special Forces track - he had a BS in Engineering > but wanted to be a SF operator vs an SF officer...

most important consideration >> what does he want to do?

[Deschodt]

+1 on above...

You'd think the kid would have an idea of preferences... Do you want to possibly command a ship one day, or fly, or....

I know that whether or not I was flying, I'd want to be around airplanes. I don't give two $#@$ about boats (or smelly bunks, or being on a boat for 6 months) ! basic stuff...

[rattlsnak]

All good advice... We talked to both recruiters today. Main problem is, he really doesn't know what he wants to do yet but he also found out real quick that he can not go in as an officer with a marketing degree and a 3.1 GPA. Both branches have a min of 3.5ish GPA to be considered for an officer rank. So now he is leaning towards Air National Guard or Reserves and still maybe just enlisting in the AF active duty as he could enter as a grade/rank level 4 or 5 depending on some other things so now he is mad at himself for not getting a better GPA in college or not joining right out of high school as he feels the last four years of college was now a waste. I tried to explain that entering 4 or 5 ranks up is definitely worth something for sure as it would have probably taken him 3-4 years to get to that point from scratch so the higher rank and pay is a huge benefit. We now have a lot of paperwork and reading materials to go over to help with the decision but thanks again everyone.