This is from my experience and just note that it is anecdotally just one random opinion, but it is an opinion shared by some peers of mine (It also has some aspects of the surface Navy taken into account unfortunately). I imagine other warfare communities and different parts of Navy aviation are better or worse in some regards.
The Navy tends to be more risk averse compared to the Corps. There seems to be no incentive to allow younger officers think and execute outside the box of standard institutional norms (doctrinally bound vs doctrinally sound). The Squadrons and ships that I’ve seen are very accustom to set schedules and plans. Adjusting schedules to accommodate something different or exploit an opportunity were meant with resistance. Even if the risks were minimal or mitigated appropriately. Marine staffs and aircrew execute based off of intent and guidance a little better than Navy counterparts. Navy commands from my vantage point were more concerned about safety, optics, risks, and perception then other priorities. I’m not saying you don’t see this in the Marines, but it was very apparent in my time with the Navy. The military is an inherently hazardous organization, and I’ve just seen Marines embrace and handle it little better than their service peers.
Navy chiefs and senior enlisted walk all over their junior officers and it seems faux pas to confront them even though those officers have every operational, moral, and legal reasons to do so. I have witnessed conversations between Chiefs and Navy LTs that I could never fathom ever occurring between a Gunny and Capt. I won’t get into the phyiscal fitness aspect of it, because enlisted Marines are indoctrinated to expect that out of Marine Officers. I do believe not looking like a bag of potatoes makes you a little more credible as a leader. Not all services concur with that thought process - Especially the Navy.
Big Navy has very regimented career paths and does not offer much room for deviation. The Corps has let its officers go all over the place and still meet metrics for promotion. It seems that each Navy community values separate jobs and doesn’t seem to look and seek the common development and education with other warfare communities (and vice versa). It is valuable to goto other places in the Corps and attain experience outside of your community. We’re smaller, but allow for more deviation in career paths. There are pros and cons to that method. Navy aviation tends to be a little more hierarchical with certain communities having a large sway over the entirety of air warfare. Marine aviators seem to tend to have more of an equal standing amongst each other and our ground brethren. The reality maybe different, but this is my perception.
Do not get me wrong - there are plenty of great dudes that wear wings in the Navy. Aside from what I mentioned above, Navy aviation is well resourced, large, and offers plenty of career opportunities. I wouldn’t deter a friend or family member from joining, but there are positive and negatives to joining either services.
