Officer in the Marine Corps or Army Rangers?
Marines. You won't regret your choice. If your considering the Infantry, you could even go Recon. Being that Marines are stationed everywhere in the world, your chances of being deployed are increased. Should you choose to fly, there are many places you could be put to use. Remember that the Marines are 1st to fight. Wherever there is a coming conflict, there are Marines waiting offshore. Choosing the Army might land you a unwanted desk job (due to its large and cumbersome organization) unless you go Ranger. Having served with a former Ranger turned Marine, I can tell you he was happier with the Marines; but everyone is different. Educational, training, and equipment options are much improved with the Army. But the advantages of the Marines are due to its small size, the unity within the organization, and professionalism you'll encounter. As a Marine, I've attended several schools located on other Army & Airforce installations (Kirtland AFB & Fort Knox, etc.) and can tell you Marine & Army Installations are equally comparable. If you choose one organization and are displeased, you always have the choice to join the other.
Navy nuke officer or pilot?
One thing to keep in mind: They aren't likely to offer you an Aviation slot (unless it's as an NFO). But they are HIGHLY likely to offer you Nuclear Power. How do you like dealing with people? You may not get to manage/lead lots of people as a pilot/NFO (though some platforms you do), but you may get to do a lot of that as a Nuke. That's one thing to keep in mind. Both tend to be very precise and "anal" for lack of a better words (no, aviators are not wild crazy Mavericks like everyone thinks-at least not when it comes to operations). They are both very "by-the-book" oriented-they both have to be. Nuke culture tends to be "smarter", while aviators tend to be a little more relaxed (probably too much). Edited to add: @Marine: Comment is based on working with the Officer Program Recruiter here in town. Aviation is not in demand right now from OCS. Nuke always is. Naval Academy and NROTC get similar numbers of slots for aviation (we're not like the Air Force where it's heavily weighted towards USAFA guys getting pilot slots), and OCS is a filler for those. The prolbem is that OCS slots that have been geting selected for aviation tended to be guys who were prior-enlisted Aviation personnel through STA-21. He'll already know if he's been selected for Naval Aviation before he goes to OCS-USN OCS students receive their eventual designators before they go. They get offered something if their package is selected and if the candidate is okay with it, they go to OCS. If they don't like it...sucks to be them. Also, Naval Aviation advancement has been poor for the last few years, for that matter. Subs/SWOs are facing a control-grade shortage, and Aviation is the one community that's heavily overmanned for officers.
Differences between Officer Training School and BMT for the US Air Force?
I am fairly certain that I am going to join the Air Force after I finish getting my Master's degree, and I've been looking into the differences between enlisting and going in as an officer. I feel like since for one I will already have a degree and two I will be 23 which is on the older side to enlist, I should go to OTS. However, I've read that OTS isn't like BMT and people get kicked out and it's more of a competition rather than just based on completion like basic. Anyone have experience with OTS who can tell me what my chances are? If they are low, I'll probably just enlist to be certain I'll get into the military. Also, I'm looking into the DEP and signing up a little less than a year before I get my degree so that I'll be ready to ship out as soon as I graduate. Do you have any say of when they send you to MEPS, or is it assigned? I'm worried that since I'll still be in school I'll be schedules for a time when I'll have to miss class.
USCG officer vs enlisted?
Coast Guard officers are more managers than leaders. After you are an O-3, you won't be out in the field doing anything - you'll be in an office making sure the mission gets accomplished - and in most cases, the line is drawn at O-2. For a Search and Rescue case, the Enlisted folks are the ones that go out and affect the rescue - the Officers are the ones that are in the Command Center. The ONLY officers that keep going out are the Aviators. Sure, there are officers on our Cutters, but they are still managers in most cases. There are almost ZERO Officers that have driven one of our Small Boats (the SAR boats) - that's an Enlisted job (and most of the O's that have done it were former Enlisted). Respect is handled differently in the Maritime Services - we give credit where credit is due - and the Enlisted folks are the ones that do the job. I'm not dogging on the O's - Coast Guard Officers are of significantly higher caliber than O's I've seen and worked with in the other services. Like has been said - you MUST have a four-year degree to be an Officer, and in almost all cases it has to be in a technical area (BS in engineering of some sort is best). Beyond that, the career path that is best for you is up to YOU. I've known people (like me) that have had wonderful careers as an Enlisted person - and others that hated it. I know people that have served great careers as Officers - and others that couldn't wait to get out because they hated it to badly. We are all unique - so my opinions are only valid for ME. There's an O on here that answers a lot of questions that seems quite happy about his career choices - (crnd) - he's a good source for the "other side" of this coin. Brian Raini