I joined the Navy over the other branches for the opportunity to travel. There was also a broad opportunity to do different things within the USN, from special ops to aviation. The lifestyle appeared less rigid than the Army or Marines, yet a bit more adventuresome than the Air Force.
Air Force has the best facilities of all. Their bases make Navy bases look like an industrial ghetto. Google pictures of 32nd Street wet side to see what I mean.
As much as I love being in the Navy, I would tell the younger me to look at the Coast Guard.
We still have (well, more or less these days), a mandatory 1 year service over here - and a part of that process is the selection day, during the year you become 17. They give you some tests, check your physical, and you get to chose three options you want to do.
Seeing as I wasn’t to keen on the whole idea of spending a year in the military in the first place, and the recruitment officer on the day I was in happend to be from the Navy, as well as the ridicilous uniforms you have to wear during basics in the Navy- I basically decided then and there that Navy was out. Air Force was out to, seeing as I used glasses, and thus could never hope to be a pilot.
However, I had a interest in computers and technical gizmos, so I ended up choosing Army - Communications, radios, encrypted stuff, some pretty neat digital transmitters. Went to basics, spent three months learning about the thing-a-magjings, done with basics I was promptly transfered to a supply depot, were everything I’d learnt in basic was wasted. Army for you, I guess
Hey for what it is worth the bases vary a lot. I was at Coronado and while 32nd St was pretty bad, Coronado was pretty nice overall. Parts of Nat Earl in NJ look like an Air Force Country Club base. And Pearl Harbor is obviously the best base in the world for any service.
“Hooligan Navy”: I like it! I should have been an EA, since I had been working summers as a surveyor and loved it, but the schools were over quota during war time. So even though I told the guy that I was partially colorblind, they made me an electrician (CE). Now that’s the Navy way :rolleyes:. The training has served me well, though, and since EA was such a tight rating, I would never have made Chief.
And I agree about the AF facilities. It was a real eye-opener when I was deployed to Misawa, Japan and had my own room instead of living in an open-bay barracks. The difference between the food that was served was the difference between a good restaurant and a soup kitchen.
My college roommate freshman year was in the Army National Guard and I saw the benefits first hand. I was headed for pre-med, so I figured I’d see what the ARNG had in the way of medical service. Figured the experience would be good for me and wouldn’t hurt for an application to med school.
It also helped that the campus recruiter always played pinball at the student union on his lunch break, as did I. We chatted all friendly-like over pinball games for a few months while I allowed him to recruit me.
So I enlisted as 91A (combat medic). There was a Guard MAS*H unit in New Orleans, about 1.5 hours from my campus, so I was assigned there. Being a medic in a post-op ward is not bad duty, especially when we ended up in Iraq for the Gulf War. The hospital facilities are the only ones temperature controlled in the middle of the desert, so it was actually better to be on duty than off most of the time.
(I actually hated medical care and changed my mind about med school. I’m glad I found that out in the Army rather than after blowing $100,000K in student loans)
Many years ago (1981) I joined the Air Force. I wanted some marketable skills when I got out beyond cleaning and firing weapons, and I figured that the Air Force and Navy gave me the best chance at getting those (although in fairness, I might have gotten those from the other services). In the end I chose the Air Force over the Navy, but that probably had more to do with the recruiters than anything.
At least you’re stationed close to home. You might even save some lives instead of killing. Bust some big time dope smugglers etc.
I almost joined my dad in the Air Force after high school. Luckily, I got a sports scholarship and went to college. That was the only way we could afford it.
FWIW you can change branches. My dad was Navy for ten years, then Air Force for 12.
Back in the 70’s, I almost joined the Navy. I really didn’t think I was good enough to join the Marines. But I did. I still get nightmares about being back in boot camp. And it was STILL the best decision I’ve ever made in my life.
I learned about being a man. I learned about taking responsibility for my actions. I learned that life isn’t fair, but you can match it head-for-head and still come out on top. I learned self-assurance and confidence. I learned how to shoot any weapon they could throw at me, and to write computer code with the best. I was the best. Hell, I am STILL the BEST!
Well, Coast Guard does deploy overseas, but it’s relatively rare. For a while there was a flotilla operating out of Basra, IIRC, and any Marine can name the Coast Guardsman who received the Medal of Honor at Normandy.
Also, you can change branches, but depending on which way you want to go, it can be tricky. For what it’s worth, the Army has a Blue To Green program that helps Airmen join the Army after their enlistment finishes.
Definitely true about the AF; however, Misawa was an exception–the Navy CBQ was surprisingly much better than the AF. This was back in '97-2000–not sure how it is nowadays.
For me it was pretty easy–I knew I wanted to see the world. I still remember those Navy commercials that came out with the “It’s not just a job, it’s an adventure” tagline. I was 11 or so at the time, so by the time Top Gun came out, I was already thinking that doing something in the Navy was one of the manliest things you could do. Once I decided to go military, I didn’t have to waffle about which service to join.
Looking back after 15 years, the commercials nailed it. I’ve seen the world and had a great time doing it. But I’m still glad to be getting out soon.
(amphibious) navy had old, rusty ships and angry, unhappy people, (and the geopolitics behind it all was stupid) but being out at sea during deadly rough weather, or looking up at the southern constellations at night on the Indian Ocean, or bright afternoons with sunlight like a million flashbulbs on the surface of the waves, or the flying fish going in and out of the swells…many, many wonderful images not available to a guy whose only other choice was a factory job in some town in the middle of nowhere.
