YOUNGNDUMB said:
I am getting ready to sign my life away for the next 10 years. I want to fly fast and blow sh*t up, but what is the difference between branches? The marine recruiter gets me real pumped up talking about how the marines are more high speed and see more action. I like being fast and on the edge. In a career, being a pilot, I would think you would be better off in the Navy. Navy has more money, more jets, and a pilot can end up commanding a carrier. In the marines, being centered on the rifleman, it seems like pilots are second rate. Please give some insight so I can make the right decision.
If you want to fly fast...blah, blah.... Well, first I'd say you need a better reason to join. Assuming you want to serve your country first, etc, I'd say you have a better chance of pulling triggers in the Marines. TACAIR, or as it's commonly called, "jets," is only a minority of either service's air element. In the Corps, you can still end up in an offensive role in a Cobra or Huey, not to mention the fact that every fleet Marine aircraft has been involved in action in the sandbox of late.
The two biggest officer MOSs in the Corps are infantry and aviation. The Commandant of the Marine Corps is always an infantry officer. The assistant commandant is an aviator. While Marine air supports the infantry, "second rate" doesn't describe anything in the Corps, be it air, infantry, arty, supply, or whatever.
As far as commands, Marine units deploy as air-ground task forces, meaning that a ground or air officer may be in charge. Both of my Marine Expeditionary Unit COs were pilots (46 drivers, in fact). The commander of II MEF, who provides the Marine forces in Iraq right now, is a F-18 pilot.
To address the "Marine, sailor, soldier" dilemma--I wouldn't start any sentence to General Hagee with "Hey" anything!
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