# If You Had to Join the Armed Forces, Which Branch Would You Pick & Why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 2, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331 "2000-10-02T13:46:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wildest\_Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Wildest\_Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wildest_Bill)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/1 "2000-10-02T13:46:05Z")
Let’s say there is another war and everybody is getting drafted both men and women. But they are letting you pick what branch to serve in. So which one would it be and why. I wouldn’t pick the navy for sure. Being out to sea for that long would bite and if you get hit by one torpedo your sunk no thanks. I think I would pick the air force killing from above wouldn’t be as bad I think and if you get hit you usually die fast. Well what would y’all pick and why? Btw back in WWII could people pick what branch to serve in after they got drafted? ---
**Author:** ![tatertot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c37758/32.png) [@tatertot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tatertot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/2 "2000-10-02T13:49:15Z")
Let’s say my Dad is rich and influential and got me into the National Guard. Hey, this is hypothetical question isn’t it? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/3 "2000-10-02T14:05:56Z")
Well, I already joined the army as a radio operator. This time it depends: During wartime - airforce Now - The Navy - better opportunities for international travel. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/4 "2000-10-02T14:06:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > Let’s say there is another war and everybody is getting drafted both men and women. But they are letting you pick what branch to serve in. So which one would it be and why. I wouldn’t pick the navy for sure. Being out to sea for that long would bite and if you get hit by one torpedo your sunk no thanks. I’d serve in the Army because I already did that and I might get bumped back to corporal. 🙂 It was a dangerous job, though - tactical E.W. - so I might want to figure out some way to be a REMF. I think the Air Force would be ideal for that. Most people in the air Force don’t actually fly combat missions, right? Gotta take 30-40 people to keep one fighter pilot in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/5 "2000-10-02T14:07:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wildest Bill \* > \*\*I think I would pick the air force killing from above wouldn’t be as bad I think and if you get hit you usually die fast. \*\* Wildest Bill, you do realize a small percentage of Air Force personnel are actually pilots. And if you’re drafted, odds are you’re going to be a grunt, not an officer (pilots are usually officers). I was in the Air Force, so I’m biased, but if I had to do it _again_, I’d still choose the AF, not because the death woulds be quicker or killing from above any easier, but you’re less likely to be in the thick of it as would Army and Marines. Also there’s the stories I’ve heard from my grandfather (1st Marine Infantry during the Korean War), my father (Navy - torpedo-man on a submarine, and served on a PT boat during Viet Nam), and my uncle (Army - helicopter gunner during Viet Nam). They’ve all told me stories about what they did in their respective branch of the military. I’ll stay with the Air Force. ---
**Author:** ![Crunchy\_Frog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ebca7d/32.png) [@Crunchy\_Frog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crunchy_Frog)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/6 "2000-10-02T14:13:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RickJay \* > **Most people in the air Force don’t actually fly combat missions, right? Gotta take 30-40 people to keep one fighter pilot in the air.** Simulposting again, this has been happening to me a lot lately. Anyway, yes, you need maintenance guys, refueling guys, air traffic controllers, radio operators, intelligence guys (that’s me!), guys to wave those little cones and tell the pilot where to park, medical guys, etc. A very small percentage of Air Force is actually Air Force, and those who are pilots, not all are combat pilots - there are the spy planes, the bombers, the fighters; then there are the cargo planes, the medical, the AWACs. Don’t be too misled though, the Air Force does have ground troops, and you couldn’t pay me enough to be a combat controller. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/7 "2000-10-02T14:26:57Z")
Probably the Army, due to my democratic principles. (Plus I can see myself as Sgt. Bilko.) The Air Force holds no allure for me, and Marines fill me with an unconscious dread. The Navy might be fun, but I can’t even make me soap float. And **Chief Scott** would be around to pummel my worthless ass. “Well, well…looks like Ukulele Boy has drawn latrine duty…AGAIN. Sorry, sailor, we’re all out of mops.” How about the Coast Guard? I would bravely patrol our nation’s shorelines, barely even risking my life. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/8 "2000-10-02T14:31:19Z")
[decked out in my cute Suffragette sailor suit]: “If I were a man, I’d join the Navy!”\* - yet another of Eve’s 85-year-old pop culture jokes—this was a WWI recruiting poster ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/9 "2000-10-02T14:32:11Z")
Shh-h-h-h! Don’t draw attention to me, man! I’m on a mission for the CIA! ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/10 "2000-10-02T14:34:58Z")
The Air Force. The admission standards are a wee bit higher and your personall allotments are too. We got to ship twice the stuff to europe as the poor grunt families. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Cynical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ee59a6/32.png) [@Mr.Cynical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Cynical)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/11 "2000-10-02T17:18:56Z")
Granted the quality of life is better in the Air Force, but I found that unless you are in a boom-boom career field, it is hard to make rank. Comparatively, anyway, you do not make rank as fast in the AF as in other branches. I would go to another branch, knowing that now. You don’t get paid as well in the AF, cause it’s harder to climb the ladder. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/12 "2000-10-02T17:23:54Z")
RickJay- an REMF!!! BWAAAAAHHHAAAAAHHHAAAA!!! Seriously- the Army, all the way. In fact, if they allowed girls, I would go a step further and break my ass to become a Ranger. My brother was a Ranger and it rocks. Sua Sponte! ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/13 "2000-10-02T17:26:05Z")
Not that either of us is a rah-rah grunt-grunt type, or anything. In fact, my brother is a surfer/scuba instructor, he just wanted to be in THE special force! Fuck those jarheads. And those squids. And those zoomies. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/14 "2000-10-02T17:38:24Z")
Ha i guess I’ve got most of you beat, as a Cartographer I could join any branch and be safe! I didn’t think my Cart degree would come in handy either. But if I had to choose I’d think I’d go Navy just to see more, and sinking a ship is a lot harder than it looks. plus a lot of times you can get picked up as a POW, they normally don’t let people drown. ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/15 "2000-10-02T17:42:34Z")
Well, as a future 2LT in the Army…I’d pick the…Army. (I’ll be commissioned July 2001). If I was going for safety, I’d probably pick the AF, but I’m planning on branching Signal Corps…hopefully doing comm. design, but even if I don’t, I’d be setting up communications nets for everyone else…that’s cool. If I get branched infantry, though, I might have to break my leg in half. 😉 Jman ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/16 "2000-10-02T18:03:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*[decked out in my cute Suffragette sailor suit]: > > “If I were a man, I’d join the Navy!”\* > > - yet another of Eve’s 85-year-old pop culture jokes—this was a WWI recruiting poster \*\* I remember that poster and you looked adorable! Me? I was an Air Force Reserve brat (for what that’s worth) and had an early and long indoctrination, so I’d go with that. The Navy could be cool, except that I get seasick. The Coast Guard guys I’ve seen are built like me and almost as old, so I’d probably fit right in. I want to show my daughters considering joining up “Saving Private Ryan” so they can gain a better understanding that **the infantry’s for CHUMPS!** A lesson I learned at my father’s knee. ---
**Author:** ![GRJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d07c76/32.png) [@GRJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GRJ)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/17 "2000-10-02T18:18:51Z")
After the unfortunate, although admittedly unique (I guess), demise of the Kursk, I would be unlikely to opt for the navy. My grandfather served in the Royal Air Force during WW2, but not as a pilot. When I was young I felt tempted to become a fighter pilot; but I turned out to suffer from myopia and colour (that’s color to all you Americans :)) blindness. If I had the choice, I think it would be pretty cool to join a specialist group such as the SAS or Delta Force. ---
**Author:** ![eponymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e0b2c6/32.png) [@eponymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eponymous)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/18 "2000-10-02T18:44:11Z")
Air Force, no question. Having spent five years in the Air Force, if forced to serve, I’d join again. In times of war, if you were in the U. S. Air Force, most likely you would be stationed well behind the front lines of any conflict (the exception, of course, is if you happen to belong to a unit that works on the front lines - like air forward controllers). In addition, the enlisted are treated much better, IMHO, than the enlisted in other branches. Historically, the Air Force hasn’t had problems in recruiting personnel - essentially taking people who score well on the entrance exams or who have the ability to learn high-tech skills relatively fast. Therefore, they tend to be valued more (in general) than the enlisted of the other services. I was an officer and I can personally say that I respected many of the enlisted with whom I worked (in fact, I enjoyed working with the enlisted troops much more than the other officers). As an aside, I had several senior NCO’s tell me that, for them, Vietnam was one big party. Gaining rank is particularly difficult if you happen to be a support officer (high ranks go to the pilots, of course), and can be difficult for certain career fields for enlisted as well. I think the difficulty in making rank as an enlisted person has to do with the retention rate. Since the enlisted are valued more (in general) than those in the other brances, they tend to stay in longer. At least, that was the case when I served (late 80’s early 90’s). Since the Air Force had to spend a considerable sum to recruit personnel recently (the first time, I beleive, in its history), I’m assuming that retation rates have declined. ---
**Author:** ![muppetsoup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/aca169/32.png) [@muppetsoup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muppetsoup)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/19 "2000-10-02T19:45:54Z")
I’d go with the navy… I think the simpsons put it best: ‘It’s not just a job, it’s a really easy job.’ ---
**Author:** ![Nimue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/d26b3c/32.png) [@Nimue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nimue)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2000, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331/20 "2000-10-02T20:42:55Z")
> [@](#): > > Let’s say there is another war and everybody is getting drafted both men and women. But they are letting you pick what branch to serve in. My dad actually sort of did this. When he was drafted into the army for Vietnam, he got out of it by enlisting in the Air Force. Good move, IMHO (and in his opinion as well, I’m sure). From what little knowledge I have of the different branches of the military, I’d probably go for Air Force, too. I’ve had several family members who have served (or continue to serve) in the Air Force and I’d trust their opinion of it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-had-to-join-the-armed-forces-which-branch-would-you-pick-why/35331.md?page=2)