Which of the US armed services is best?

Now before any of you go hating on the tread because it is about the military, please listen to my explaination.

I am currently looking to join a branch of the military because I seriously couldn't hope to survive on the salary that I am currently pulling while attempting to go through school, but what I want to know is which of these branches would be best for setting me up with a better future whether money for college or a technical skill that I could learn through the service such as a mechanic. I'm not looking for answers like, "Join the Marines because they kick ass!" I've already heard this from my friends who would mistake Navy personel as jarheads

No. I'm looking for answers for questions like "does the skills that they teach in this branch translate well into civilian life?", "How does this branch set you up for college?" and "Will companies even hire me after knowing I've been through the military and may possibly be fucked up?"

Hopefully I didn't post this in the wrong section and hopefully this thread might help someone else wondering the same thing before they're smooth talked into joining a service that won't help them later in life by a recruiter who will tell you anything to get you to join (sorry if there is a recruiter reading this who takes offence).

If any of you have military experience I would love to hear your view on your branch and also that of other branches too (please don't spew hate at other branches though as that will lead nowhere)

The Airforce actually values their people.

Seriously. And I work for the Army.

Go with the airforce. Although, airforce is one of the hardest positions to get into. Especially if you want to be a pilot :(

When you say 'survive', do you really mean live comfortably? i often see people confuse luxury for necessity. you need food and shelter. everything else is gravy. suck it up for the few years you are in school.

also, is the coast guard counted as a branch of the armed forces?

Each branch has it's ups and downs when it comes to many aspects of life. I'm was in the Navy, however I knew of people who never got on a ship in their life, or was never their permenant station. I knew of few guys who were Stationed in other countries for years, if not decades, which sounds nice until you realize how hard it is to transfer out of it. Army/Marines, I don't know much, I do understand they are on more of a merit system and it's hard work, but even then that varies on what your job you chose and the training you get.

Each Branch of the military has sub branches and if not worlds in itself. This makes it hard to just sum up the Navy or the Airforce in one paragraph.It's better off to say that each branch has a different culture and you can make the most out of it. You can get a ton of training for a civilian job in the Army like construction, yet you could have useless training like learning how to repair F-22 Raptors in the Airforce.

Each Branch has jobs that are out of the general line of thinking for that branch, and you can very well be out of combat or in it(Depending on your insanity). The best advice I can give is look at every branch, see what they have to offer and be the biggest dick you can be to get that position. Recruiters are never your friends... never.

by surviving I mean borrowing money from my father to be able to eat ramen and borrowing my neighbor's wifi to get onto fakku.... so yeah I may die at this rate hahaha (not actually very funny) living comfortably for me would be being able to buy hamburger meat more than once a week

I'm guessing that the coast guard is its own branch since they have their own recruiters, but I haven't seen any of them around where I live

after rereading my first post, i was a bit rude. i apologize for that.

Finish college then join the military as an officer. Specialize in something non-combat related and you'll be just fine. Though if you're in the army or navy, you still might be sent to the middle-east for support. Most enlisted men will be sent over as infantry. If getting into college is an issue, you might have to suck it up and join as an enlisted man until the military pays for your college.

Its all ok man, if I saw my post as someone else I would probably question his situation too..... especially since hes asking this question on the internet which is quite the luxury



I've been through a vocational school (won't say which one as that is personal information) for a few years and have enough college hours from the program to be bumped up to an E3 but I don't have the money to afford certification in that field so money for college isn't really there, I will say that I should be getting my ASVAB scores in a couple of days or a week and hopefully I'll be able to narrow down branch choices from there

Im joinin the Navy so thats that. Why you may ask, because of the camo.

I'm in the running for OTS with the USAF. I prefer the branch because of how they use my area of study (Physics). That and aviation is super cool.

And Stargate.

If you are looking for a branch that will give you training in a good trade, that will pay off after your stint in the military, then I would suggest either Navy or Air Force. Depending on your aptitude, you could get into any number of high demand fields that will set you up once you leave the service. Many businesses make a habit of hiring retired servicemen, because they know that they will get hard workers, trained in both leadership and capable of following orders.

Almost any high-tech training will be valuable to private sector employers, and some will be very sought after. It all depends on how smart you are, and how well you mesh within the military lifestyle. Work hard, follow orders and do your homework, and you will find the niche that is just right for you. Good luck.

Well. I wanted to vote on russian Spetznaz but, ill be off the topic.

Well. My thoughts will be on Airforce.

And ToyManC raises a good point.

Do you want to go to focus on school or on making money? You can go active duty and make some good money while getting money for school, but it will take longer to get your degree. You can do reserve which gives you significantly less benefits than active duty but you rake in a little cash while being able to get a part time job and go to school.

As for branch I am joining the Army myself, so I might be a little biased. My entire family has been in the military at some point and all of them liked the Army the most. This is coming from men that were in the Navy and Army, Airforce and Army, and men that were in the Army during Vietnam and the Korean War. Even my mom and sister really liked the Army.

Also depends on what kind of training you are looking for, but to be honest you might not get what MOS you want no matter what branch you choose. If they don't need you to be that MOS, you won't be that MOS, even with a perfect ASVAB score. The best way to know if you have a chance at getting a certain MOS is to look at those that offer enlistment bonuses. That means that they are going to pay you more to choose that MOS. The catch is that they are usually hard or undesirable MOSs. Right now the Army only offers enlistment bonuses for 6 MOSs. They are 09L (interpreter/translator for Pushtu and Persian), 12D (diver), 18X (Special Forces), 35P (cryptologic linguist), 68K (laboratory specialist) and 89D (explosive ordnance disposal specialist).

This doesn't mean you can't get what you want, but this lets you know which MOSs will definitively be open. You don't actually find out which MOS you are likely going to get until near the end of you MEPS process. The recruiter may tell you what you might get, but it is in no way guaranteed. I had a high enough ASVAB score to get any MOS in any branch and my recruiter told me I was going to be a 25S, Satellite Com System Operator-Maintainer, but then at MEPS they told me that wasn't open, so I got lucky and got what I wanted anyway which was a 35F Intelligence Analyst.

No matter what branch you choose, make sure to get a MOS with low promotion points. That means you will get promoted faster which means more money. Get to officer as fast as you can. Even warrant officer is better than enlisted. Not to mention that officers are more valuable and are less likely to see combat. Unless you are in the Airforce in which only officers get to fly jets. And go to extra schools as much as you can. I plan on going to airborne school but there are a lot more than that. The more training you have overall, the better it looks on your resume. Also the more training you have, the more valuable you are to your unit, the more likely you are to be promoted, and again this means more money.

Edit: Another thing. This may be nothing, but when I was at MEPS the Army personnel were the nicest and the Navy personnel were all angry assholes. Everyone said they were so mad because they were in the Navy. Also the Marines in there were different altogether. I don't know what it was but they just acted so different.

And finally, based on what you said above, joining any branch will have you living significantly more comfortably than you do now. My sisters husband is in the Army and can afford to pay all of their bills with both of them in college and they have 3 kids. He is close to becoming an officer as well.

Mod Note: I received a report that this topic might be more appropriate for the Random section. However, after some consideration, I have decided to leave this thread in the Serious Discussion section... for now at least, because some posts do mention about how the various branches of the military works as well as the benefits it may have outside of military life.

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Getting back on topic, I am sure there is something to be learned from each branch of the army. Although I do not live in the United States of America, I can be called a soldier because there is conscription in my country. Right now, I belong to the infantry, but in the past, I have learned about logistics and book-keeping, due to the nature of my job scopes.

I do not know how the military system in the United States of America works, but when one signs up, is there an option to be in the combat or non-combat departments? I reckon it may be easier (and somewhat safer?) to pick up relevant skills in the non-combat departments, such as being a mechanic, IT specialist, etc.

In the US you can choose your MOS(military occupation specialty) or job based on your ASVAB scores, which just basically tells you if you are smart enough for certain jobs. However, no matter what MOS you pick, you are never guaranteed from seeing combat. If they need to deploy more soldiers and want to deploy you, they will. Of course picking a job that is more valuable will mean that you will be less likely to see combat but it is never a guarantee.

I have a few military friends including ones from the Air Force.If you want to focus on your education,college and a future career then the Air Force is your best option.


They can put you to school and offers tons of fields.Air Force does get deployed all over the world but rarely as front line troops.Also you don't have to pilot jets or helicopters,sometimes they send you to guard nuclear power plants or nuclear silos.

Also if you wish to pursue a more intense military career,the Marines have the highest bids on frontline and hotzone deployment.

Coming from a military family, mostly army and one jarhead, i can say it really depends on what you want to do/study.

But as others have said i would say look into air force. More well rounded then other.

When I'm done I'm joining the navy or marines. Sullen as that in my opinion all the services has its negatives and positives. It just depends of what you want to do in the future.