Yeah, its been my experience that the Air Force and Navy lead the way in that regard. The Coast Guard is no slouch either
I'm thinking of joining the Navy
- Thread starter Gaith
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Angela 0077
Captain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzVbx7O_iaE&feature=related
Geez when you talk about the navy.
There was a song by The Village Poeple which was famous quite a few years back.
Geez when you talk about the navy.
There was a song by The Village Poeple which was famous quite a few years back.
I think that if you want to serve and you think that's something you can do, go for it. It's a volunteer military and a choice.
Now, I'm partial to the Air Force. Even if you go in enlisted, you're going to find it's a whole different atmosphere than the Navy which is, excuse me, but "200 years of tradition unhampered by progress."
I kid you not, if your image of the military is like Starfleet, you'll get closer to that in the Air Force than you will in the Navy, by FAR. Yeah, some bases have enlisted clubs and officers' clubs, but on some bases they've got venues where everybody goes. There's a little less elitism, which makes sense because if you're going to send an aircrew out to someplace in a foreign country where, depending on where they land, they're going to have nobody but each other, and trying to have "officer's country" and "enlisted country" is the epitome of stupid.
And if you don't want combat, and you really do want to see the world and have time to get off the plane and DO things (using sense, of course), you're going to be able to do that most effectively not at sea, but as part of a cargo crew. It might not SOUND glamorous, but I've known cargo pilots and they get the cool stuff with a lot less of the shoot-at-you stuff. You may be sent on a 90-day rotation into a hostile area, but your base will be in a somewhat safer location. Now if you do an airdrop into a hostile area, you may be in combat...it can happen. Your job will be to make your drop and get out, obviously not to engage the enemy.
And if anyone ever tells you cargo planes can't be cool, I have two words for you: ASSAULT LANDING.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQBGDsakXbM&feature=related
And how would you like to fly THAT? Listen to the POWER this thing has! Crank your speakers and blow your neighbors out of bed! (Imagine standing where those people were!!!) And look at how little runway this GIANT plane requires...and then he actually BACKS UP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8OSDGRCivw&feature=related
And this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyBlNdGb66M&feature=related
AWESOME.
Trust me...go Air Force, and go cargo!
Now, I'm partial to the Air Force. Even if you go in enlisted, you're going to find it's a whole different atmosphere than the Navy which is, excuse me, but "200 years of tradition unhampered by progress."
I kid you not, if your image of the military is like Starfleet, you'll get closer to that in the Air Force than you will in the Navy, by FAR. Yeah, some bases have enlisted clubs and officers' clubs, but on some bases they've got venues where everybody goes. There's a little less elitism, which makes sense because if you're going to send an aircrew out to someplace in a foreign country where, depending on where they land, they're going to have nobody but each other, and trying to have "officer's country" and "enlisted country" is the epitome of stupid.And if you don't want combat, and you really do want to see the world and have time to get off the plane and DO things (using sense, of course), you're going to be able to do that most effectively not at sea, but as part of a cargo crew. It might not SOUND glamorous, but I've known cargo pilots and they get the cool stuff with a lot less of the shoot-at-you stuff. You may be sent on a 90-day rotation into a hostile area, but your base will be in a somewhat safer location. Now if you do an airdrop into a hostile area, you may be in combat...it can happen. Your job will be to make your drop and get out, obviously not to engage the enemy.
And if anyone ever tells you cargo planes can't be cool, I have two words for you: ASSAULT LANDING.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQBGDsakXbM&feature=related
And how would you like to fly THAT? Listen to the POWER this thing has! Crank your speakers and blow your neighbors out of bed! (Imagine standing where those people were!!!) And look at how little runway this GIANT plane requires...and then he actually BACKS UP!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8OSDGRCivw&feature=related
And this...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyBlNdGb66M&feature=related
AWESOME.
Trust me...go Air Force, and go cargo!
Remember what Winston Churchill said about naval tradition. “It's nothing but rum, sodomy and the lash.”Now, I'm partial to the Air Force. Even if you go in enlisted, you're going to find it's a whole different atmosphere than the Navy which is, excuse me, but “200 years of tradition unhampered by progress.”
Sounds pretty cool to me!
Well, to be fair, you'd expect the Air Force to be less tradition-bound than the other services, since it's only existed as a separate branch of the military since 1947.
Yes, we already did the Village People thing upthread. WAY upthread.
The name of the song is “Anchors Aweigh.” As in “to weigh anchor,” meaning to haul the anchor aboard. Spell it “away” and you'll be slicing up onions in the galley for the next six weeks.
BTW, I just found out that it was originally a football song! The things you learn from the Internet . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anchors_Aweigh
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Angela 0077
Captain
Really.
Sorry about that.
Sorry about that.
Of course. And I also think the nature of the mission demands a different tradition.
But seriously, I really think a Trekkie is going to be most comfortable in the Air Force!
Of course. And I also think the nature of the mission demands a different tradition.
But seriously, I really think a Trekkie is going to be most comfortable in the Air Force!
For what it's worth, Air Force was my first choice and Army was my second.
Well, I got Army and if I had to do it all over again I'd punch my 18 year old self in the face and tell him to do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to go Air Force. They definitely have the best quality of life. Plus, AF gets that BS substandard living pay. You know how much extra I got paid for sleeping in mud? Nothing.
By the way, good luck!
^^ Thanks! I left a message on the nearest officer's recruiting hotline mid-Friday... We'll see where it goes. 
And to all you Air Forcers... thanks for the thoughts, but really, I have no interest in planes at all. I mean, apart to ride in now and then.
And to all you Air Forcers... thanks for the thoughts, but really, I have no interest in planes at all. I mean, apart to ride in now and then.
Not a problem... I'm a Trekkie, remember? (*Ducks*, kidding, sorta...)
Gah. That - and the prospect of Navy OCS being too flooded with applicants to let me in - is what I'm afraid of. We shall see...
Sorry so late in responding to the OP. Gaith: Your degree is history, how are you on math and engineering? Those are high priority for OCS. If you want to be a ship driver (who can expect to spend a chunk of their careers in the engine rooms as well as on the bridge), bone up on your math.
Have you considered the Reserve? I don't know how things work now but there used to be USNR programs where you were active duty for a couple of years. I worked with a lot of Navy intelligence and crypto officers who were reservists and history degrees fit in fine there. This was still in the Cold War Navy, though, so I don't know what the demand is now. Navy Intelligence is more about data analysis than battlefield interrogation and such like the Army and Marines, and can be very exacting, routine -- I didn't say tedious! -- but also very interesting work. Navy intel officer is a good job and can expect to serve at sea as well as ashore, possibly in places like Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain or the UK.
Great videos. Cargo planes have always been cool! And they're finally getting their due: the current Air Force Chief of Staff is an airlift pilot, the first to hold that position.
--Justin
Have you considered the Reserve? I don't know how things work now but there used to be USNR programs where you were active duty for a couple of years. I worked with a lot of Navy intelligence and crypto officers who were reservists and history degrees fit in fine there. This was still in the Cold War Navy, though, so I don't know what the demand is now. Navy Intelligence is more about data analysis than battlefield interrogation and such like the Army and Marines, and can be very exacting, routine -- I didn't say tedious! -- but also very interesting work. Navy intel officer is a good job and can expect to serve at sea as well as ashore, possibly in places like Japan, Korea, Australia, Spain or the UK.
Great videos. Cargo planes have always been cool! And they're finally getting their due: the current Air Force Chief of Staff is an airlift pilot, the first to hold that position.
--Justin
All I can say is go Officer and do an active duty tour.
However, having done 8yrs active and 4 in the Reserves (I finally got my Honorable Discharge last year), all of them enlisted, I'm not dumping on the enlisted experience at all. I had fun. My biggest regret was not staying longer.
But there's a whole world of difference between being an officer and being enlisted. In most basic terms, it comes down to the difference between you being told to make the coffee and having it made for you.
And one of the last posters is right about the Navy. Trust me it's not Starfleet. The real Enterprise is not as pristine as her TV counterpart (I did 2wks of TAD on that bucket.)
It's not SF by a long shot. It's a little more like the Colonial Fleet (nu-BSG). Plus my last 2 years of active were spent in joint comms duty with a Marine unit.
I cherish that time just for the sheer fact that it opened my eyes to the Marine side the Fleet. Though a part of the Fleet, they really do have their own SOP, history, lore, and set of values that sets them apart.
Somewhat like the Klingons in a way, what with the value they both place on honor. I do recommend at least one joint duty tour in a Marine unit. Its a learning experience
to be sure.
You will have s**t times in the Navy. Trek never showed working parties in progress. But with cargo transporters, I doubt there'd be need for one. They never showed "mess-cranking", but replicators did away with that. (though you did see servers in TUC, so I guess theres still a need for "cranks")
But the bad balances out with the good. Take, for example, number of new friends from all over you will make (many I still keep in touch with, and a few practically like family to me). Not to mention all the new places to visit and experiences you'll have (touring Greek ruins or camel rides in Dubai for ex.).
For a kid from West Texas, it felt like I went to (for me,anyway) some "strange, new worlds".
I think you should go for it. Just my two cents.
However, having done 8yrs active and 4 in the Reserves (I finally got my Honorable Discharge last year), all of them enlisted, I'm not dumping on the enlisted experience at all. I had fun. My biggest regret was not staying longer.
But there's a whole world of difference between being an officer and being enlisted. In most basic terms, it comes down to the difference between you being told to make the coffee and having it made for you.
And one of the last posters is right about the Navy. Trust me it's not Starfleet. The real Enterprise is not as pristine as her TV counterpart (I did 2wks of TAD on that bucket.)
It's not SF by a long shot. It's a little more like the Colonial Fleet (nu-BSG). Plus my last 2 years of active were spent in joint comms duty with a Marine unit.
I cherish that time just for the sheer fact that it opened my eyes to the Marine side the Fleet. Though a part of the Fleet, they really do have their own SOP, history, lore, and set of values that sets them apart.
Somewhat like the Klingons in a way, what with the value they both place on honor. I do recommend at least one joint duty tour in a Marine unit. Its a learning experience
to be sure.
You will have s**t times in the Navy. Trek never showed working parties in progress. But with cargo transporters, I doubt there'd be need for one. They never showed "mess-cranking", but replicators did away with that. (though you did see servers in TUC, so I guess theres still a need for "cranks")
But the bad balances out with the good. Take, for example, number of new friends from all over you will make (many I still keep in touch with, and a few practically like family to me). Not to mention all the new places to visit and experiences you'll have (touring Greek ruins or camel rides in Dubai for ex.).
For a kid from West Texas, it felt like I went to (for me,anyway) some "strange, new worlds".
I think you should go for it. Just my two cents.
^^ Thanks! I left a message on the nearest officer's recruiting hotline mid-Friday... We'll see where it goes.
And to all you Air Forcers... thanks for the thoughts, but really, I have no interest in planes at all. I mean, apart to ride in now and then.
There's staff work in any service, too.
Just remember: If you want the Starfleet experience (or as close as you'll get), go Air Force. If you want nuBSG, go Navy.
And if you want the best, go Air Force. 
Adams rocks! And if you read the book you find out how much cooler Adams was than Jefferson.
Ablative_Oberth
Lieutenant Commander
FBI.
He has his heart set on the Navy, please stop trying to convince him otherwise. Its just falling on deaf ears. Yes, we know the Air Force is the better service but thats not what he wants.
I don't know it's been said,
Navy wings are made of lead.
I don't know but I've been told,
Air Force wings are made of gold.
Sorry, I digress. The Navy is an honorable choice, it's not like he is choosing the Coast Guard.
I don't know it's been said,
Navy wings are made of lead.
I don't know but I've been told,
Air Force wings are made of gold.
Sorry, I digress. The Navy is an honorable choice, it's not like he is choosing the Coast Guard.
Then the Soviet Army is for you!
BTW, there's NOTHING dishonorable about the Coast Guard. I may be pushing the Air Force here, but none of our armed services are in the slightest to be ashamed of!
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