Air Force or Navy?

AF, you don't want to be stuck on a boat with thousands of other men for months at a time.

Air Force. When Air Force guys live in Army barracks they get hardship pay. The Air Force is basically like working for a large corporation, only you have to wear a uniform.

Army is cool and chic these days. Navy is for guys who wanna be with guys. Air Force is for smart people. Coast Guard are for swimmers. Marines are for boxers, Kung Fu freaks, rednecks, and gang bangers

You have to be a genius to get into the Air Force Academy.

I would go with the Air Force, unless months long deployments at sea (or under water) appeal to you. Even if you get a crap base assignment you can generally find something in the local area to entertain yourself (unless you're in a war zone restricted to base).

The Navy is basically obsolete. Air power is what makes America great. Go Air Force.

Signed, a US Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan

Fixed it for you.

Devil Dog wrote:

The surface Navy is basically obsolete. Air power is what makes America great. Go Air Force.

Signed, a US Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan

Devil Dog wrote:

The Navy is basically obsolete. Air power is what makes America great. Go Air Force.

You remember the old cold war joke, right?

A Soviet tank general meets a Soviet infantry general at a cafe in Paris. One says to the other, "So, who won the air war?"

I don't get that Cold War joke. They couldn't tell who shot down more planes?

Austere Environment wrote:

Air Force. When Air Force guys live in Army barracks they get hardship pay. The Air Force is basically like working for a large corporation, only you have to wear a uniform.

Not true.

Devil Dog wrote:

The Navy is basically obsolete. Air power is what makes America great. Go Air Force.

Signed, a US Marine veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan

Not true.

kjVC wrote:

I don't get that Cold War joke. They couldn't tell who shot down more planes?

It takes boots on the ground, tanks and infantry, to capture ground. Air power can make this easier but infantry is still required.

The Navy has more airplanes and helicopters than the Air Force. Air Force is far more concerned with quality of life than the Navy. The Navy has better re-enlistment bonuses. If I were to enlist again I would never choose the Navy a second time. I'd go Air Force without a doubt.

How to tell the difference between the services: you give an order and see how they react.

The order is "Secure that building!"

Marines will charge in, weapons blazing, and shoot everything that moves until nothing is moving.

Soldiers will set up a security perimeter and allow no unauthorized access.

Airmen will turn off the lights and lock the doors.

Sailors will lease it with an option to buy.

Both offer interesting enlistment opportunities.

If your goal is to complete two years of college as part of your enlistment, I would recommend the Air Force. Air Force technical training often (but not always) contributes to an associate's degree through the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF). See here for more information on the CCAF:

http://www.au.af.mil/au/barnes/ccaf/index.asp

There are some complaints about the CCAF degree...but it is accredited and I think the AF is the only service that has structured their career field technical training to grant community college credits (I could be wrong about that). I formerly was in charge of technical training for a specific career field (officer and enlisted) and first hand observed the CCAF emphasis with which curriculum is developed. This is generally a good thing, but not always. For example, there is a training script, and no matter who the instructor is, the training outcomes are always the same. In a "real" civilian college critical thought is emphasized. Whereas in military training, task knowledge and task competency is emphasized, but your understanding of the "big picture" is quite incomplete. That's a key difference between "training" and "education."

Be aware, however, that Air Force enlisted culture is fanatical about completing the CCAF degree (or at least your senior enlisted leadership)...to the point of not promoting you at a certain point in your career if you do not complete it. The Air Force has a serious cultural problem right now that places job performance too far down the totem pole in importance in relation to a slew of other things that are steeped very high in bull$hit. Google "John Q Public" to get the low-down on many of these issues. This JQP blog is extremely lively, sometimes (often?) informative. I disagree with some of it, but overall it will lay out some of the real warts in the Air Force that *do* exist (but the Air Force itself is reluctant to address, let alone allow a critical discussion to take place or dissent to be voiced).

Even **with** all of these problems, I would still recommend the Air Force over the Navy. There are numerous career fields that provide translatable skills and there is a strong emphasis on education (although perhaps too strong). Just my two cents.

If I was eligible to be in the military I would have joined the air force because of the opportunities to work with cutting edge technology. Although the Navy probably has some of the same opportunities, and supposedly better food, I could have never fathomed serving on a ship, especially a submarine, for months at a time.