Last I heard, sub duty was voluntary, so even if you joined the Navy and didn’t get to be a pilot, you wouldn’t have to be on a sub.
Just so no one feels left out from the OP, aren’t there actually 5 divisions of the US armed forces? The Department of Defense website also lists the Coast Guard.
If you want to be a pilot, you may want to get your hearing checked. My brother went to the Air Force Academy, but was not cleared to be a pilot or navigator based on his hearing (he passed the other physical requirements, sorry I can’t recall what they were). Up till he was tested, we had no idea he had a hearing loss (though it did clear up a couple things).
He’s a flight surgeon now, so he can go up in planes in that capacity (I think–I may be wrong on that point), but he can’t fly them.
Yup, and we sent a few boats over to the gulf region as well. We even have some POWs already.
Here’s the sister ship of the USCGC Chandeleur, the Baranof (also from Miami) getting underway for a patrol in the gulf.
I think the bottom line is that if you’re seriously talking to a recruiter about being a pilot, you’re going about things the wrong way and sort of talking to the wrong person. The recruiter should be pointing you in the direction of the closest ROTC or giving you a package to submit for OCS. Other than that, to my knowledge he has no bearing on one’s eventual course to getting winged. A recruiter deals with enlisting folks, which is not an eligible pool for aviation students.
Also, as has already been pointed out, there are no guarantees with anything in the services. The needs of the service come before any of your own. So while you may take and pass the aviation aptitude tests, you still may not be selected for an aviation billet. There may be a pressing need (speaking for the Navy) for cryptologists or surface warfare officers (neither one voluntary), so you may wind up in one of those communities. Or, like MaddyStrut pointed out, you may get selected but not pass the physical or educational requirements (e.g., vision problems or not doing well enough in the training pipeline). The bottom line is that while you have a say in what you do, it’s not the final say, and you have to be prepared for this possibility. Many a bitter serviceman/woman have been born because they failed to get the job they were hoping for upon joining. It really helps if your primary desire is to be an officer in whatever service you’re looking at, vice being a pilot/sub driver/SEAL/whatever in it.
Regarding the Coast Guard in combat:
Taken from this site . This link also describes the CG role in WWII, manning landing craft for many of the major beach assults.
Sorry for the detour from fighter jets (the CG does have helicopters for search and rescue though!).
The Marines also have (if it’ll ever stop crashing so dang often) the Osprey. I don’t believe it’s being used in combat due to the number of accidents in training.
If I can add a hijack, what’s the deal with the Merchant Marines? I know several people who are going to or went to the Air Force Academy, but one guy I know decided to go to the Merchant Marine academy. Admittedly, I don’t know much, but it seems from the little I do know that they always get the short end of the stick.
Oh, I don’t think the guy has to actually do ocean shipping after graduation but does have to do some sort of commerce.
[ul]
[sup]I did this and the hamsters ate the whole thing.[/sup][/ul]
The answer is none of the above.
Go to college. Join PLC immediately. Hate me for two summer 6 week camps. Get commission, fly jets, be a MARINE and make more money than other 2nd lieutenants.
Make more money? 
All other lieutenants including those that come out of Annapolis, West Point or Colorado have their longevity start when they are commissioned (after graduation). Pay is based on rank and longevity. A PLC’s longevity begins when he signs up, so that means at time of commission you can have up to 4 years longevity. That means lots more money. Also, contrary to what Uncle Bill said a PLC can go directly to flight training, which means he begins collecting flight pay within a couple of months. flight pay + a few years longevity = real good paychecks All that and you get to be a MARINE! 
[sup]I said it once and I said it again. Semper Fi[/sup]
One reason the Services have trouble operating jointly is that they don’t speak the same language.
For example, if you told Navy personnel to “secure a building,” they would turn off the lights and lock the doors.
Army personnel would occupy the building so no one could enter.
Marines would assault the building, capture it, and defend it with suppressive fire and close combat.
The Air Force, on the other hand, would take out a three-year lease with an option to buy.
My description of Quantico training was TBS, The Basic School. PLC Air Officers go through TBS BEFORE getting their wings. They are not Marine Pilots until they are winged. They may have flight training, they may be pilots, and they may be Marines. But they are not yet Marine Pilots.
Tighter support. Its much easier to accomplish a goal with forces closer to your command structure and experience.
He didn’t say that was all they could do. Afganistan was in some ways a great place to use the Marines: A hard hitting fast light attack force with great esprit de corp. And it worked. But the Marines have always been trained specially in Amphibious operations.
The Air Force tends to do long range attacks and reconaissance, I think? They have some devastating high-tech firepower, right?
If you do end up enlisted, you won’t be piloting, but you can end up as an flight engineer in larger aircraft such a P-3 Orions.
These highly motivated enlisted folks serve as chiefs of the aircraft, do pre- and post- flight inspections, fueling, etc. They sit with the pilots in the cockpit during flight, keeping a constant eye on the gauges. In the Navy, that’s as close as an elisted person comes to flying (except for some special ops types) AFAIK. It’s also a job you have to work your way into.
It’s worth noting that the Army used to have fixed-wing pilots – during WWII land-based flight missions were performed by the Army Air Force. The USAF split from the Army and became a separate branch of the military in 1947.
–Cliffy
Very few people actually know exactly what it is that the Merchant Marines do, and even less know that they have an Academy. The US Merchant Marine Academy is located in Kings Point, NY, and since it is widely unknown, it does tend to get the short end of the stick when it comes to funding. The Academy itself is run like the Naval Academy, and all the Midshipmen are in the Navy Reserves. During their sophomore and junior years, all the Midshipmen spend a year at sea working aboard US flag merchant ships sailing around the world. Senior year, all midshipmen must pass the USCG 3rd Engineer or 3rd Mates license exam.
Upon graduation, they must either:
-
Go active duty in the service of their choice (many grads go Navy flight or Marine Corps) or…
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If you do not go active, you must maintain your USNR commission for 8 years minimum. During this time you can sail on your USCG license as a 3rd Engineer or Mate aboard a US flag ship or get a shore side job directly supporting the Navy or the merchant fleet.
This is just a quick overview of their commitment, but I hope it answers most of your questions. Not that I want to completely hijack this thread (sorry empfsu1), but feel free to ask whatever you want about the USMMA. 
The Marines have become superfluous in this day and age…anything they can do the Army can do.
/me ducks and runs from the Marines, even though in their heart of hearts they know this to be the case
I respect your right to hold that opinion, even if you are wrong.
While I’m glad you respect my opinion, just what is it that Marines can do that the Army cannot?
Anf if you respond ‘amphibious assault’ I will know you know not whereof you speak.
I once attended a school on an Army base which was also a recruit training base. I can tell you here and now, you are wrong. Semper Fi
Just a quick point on the Coast Guard (which doe slots of great stuff BTW): technically it is a part of the US Department of Transportation according to it’s own website: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/faqs/when.html
Sorry I’m not up on all the html coding tricks. Anyway, according to the USCG faq page, until 1967 it was part of the Treasury Department except during wartime when it came under the cognizance of the US Navy per various executive orders on a case by case basis. I believe just recently it may have been transfered from the DOT to the new Dept of Homeland Security.
Anyway, it seems to me like your best bet for really cool planes to fly is the USMC. No-one else does fixed wing VSTOL operations. It may be a bit harder training, but the butt-whoopings you get to hand out later are so much more satisfying.
Also a quick note to asterion: The V-22 tilt rotor is not deployed because it hasn’t entered the Full Rate Production phase of the acquisition process (I work for the DoD). Basically that means it’s still undergoing lots of different testing and trouble shooting. I believe the gov’t has only purchased about a dozen or fewer units so far, so it would be somewhat difficult to deploy them with so few available anyway.
