I was going to tag a few people to ask but I thought this would cast a broader net and the more information I can get, the better. My son is asking my opinion on military service. I have little to no experience with this area. He wants to go to college for nursing. I want to know what his best option would be. Where would give the best career opportunities? Will they pay for college if he goes to college first and joins as an officer? That’s a thing right? You can join as an officer with a college degree? Do all branches pay for school? What questions should I be asking? I would appreciate any input you could give me. I don’t mind talking to a recruiter, but I feel like they might not be quite as honest as I would like since their job is to get you to sign up. I would like an honest opinion on what is best and I feel like most of you guys will give that. Thanks in advance for your input.
I’m many years removed, but happy to share my thoughts.
Yes, they’ll pay for college, but get that done first. Don’t try to go to school and then get reimbursed. It’s possible, but iffy. He’ll want to get good grades and get assigned to Medical Services.
They want nurses, all the time in all services. How long does he want to stay in? If he wants to retire, they’ll even pay for PA up to Med School opportunities (while in and getting paid!). I should have done that.
The Air Force has the best living conditions, hands down. The USMC gets all their services from the Navy… so don’t try to join the Marines for something like this; very reduced opportunity. The Navy is the biggest and the Army the worst living conditions… meaning both are probably lower-end on competitiveness for these roles.
I do think they try to be more honest than they used to be: shocker, it’s a better retention strategy. That said, just like the real world, there’s no such thing as a “forever” promise: the needs of the service can always drive change. That’s not as big a deal for medical services, though; they’re always in need and it’s hard to replace skilled workers.
Thank you for the input!
I believe my Aunt told me something similar years and years ago.
This is the Navy…
I was drafted during the Vietnam war upon graduation from college in 1970. I neither encourage nor discourage anyone thinking of joining. I do not think money should be motivation to join, though my GI bill benefits fully paid for law school later in the 1970s.
If your son is intelligent, he should first get a 4 year degree. There is other nonmilitary financial assistance. His outlook could change after he graduates. Air Force has best living conditions; Navy has the best food. Good luck.
Ha you are correct. Didn’t realize. And I have seen top gun maverick over 40 times
Hell yeah
Talk to a healthcare recruiter, not one of the strip mall guys. Army is AMEDD. I don’t know about the other branches.
My son did Army ROTC in college. He had an ROTC scholarship all the way through that paid for his way at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He graduated with an engineering degree and was commissioned a couple of years ago.
I don’t think you can use the GI Bill to pay off loans if you take them out before you enlist.
That’s about all I know.
I’m honestly not completely sure what his motivation is. I think he is looking from the side of what would be best for him financially and looking at his future. He is looking for something that he will be able to easily find a good job and benefits. I’m fairly certain that is why he has moved toward the medical field. As far as the military goes, he has been contacted by recruiters and I think he is unsure and came to me for my opinion. With the current geopolitical climate I would prefer he take a different path, but I wanted to gather as much perspective as I could so he can make a better decision.
Not to be purposefully argumentative, but I think motivation is your own. Much of my own was just to find an opportunity to leave a small town (pretty analogous with a financial motivation). As long as you’re open-eyed about what you’re getting into, it’s up to you to weigh the cost-benefit
That’s what I’m trying to help him figure out. I figured that there were lots of people here who have had lots of different experiences so it would be a good place to gain insight.
My next older brother was a corpsman in the Navy. He was assigned to the Charlotte naval hospital for the majority of his term, and had a blast. He was scheduled to go to the Persian gulf (the first one) but it was over before that happened.
He used his housing alotment and along with a whole crew from the hospital had a pretty nice apartment near the hospital & base, which by no coincidence is where my other next older brother lived.
There were some problems with matriculation from naval school to universities, and he wasn’t interested in continuing with nursing as a civilian, but I think he’s an anomaly in that regard.
Another friend was a medic in the army, but the last time I saw him was shortly after the Berlin Wall came down.
That was many moons ago.
Without trying to overly identify myself, I got to spend significant time in places like Hawaii, Germany, much of South America, and the UK, and all over the continental US. The Middle East, too, of course, but I also appreciated that. Prior to the military I’d only been out of my home state a couple times. It gave me exactly what I wanted out of it.
Almost Everybody I grew up with enlisted. My one buddy was an MP and spent almost his entire enlistment in Korea at the DMZ. He said it was the most boring thing ever. Basically show up for 8 hours and look at the guy on the other side, who is looking at you. The partying and everything else was great though.
He spent about 8 months in Hawaii too, mostly just retrieving soldiers that had a little too much and breaking up fights.
Another buddy that went reserves had a great time with it. One weekend a month, used the GI bill to go to Pitt, and on into a nice life. And he got to blow stuff up on the weekends & the one month per year!
My 2nd oldest brother was a lifer in the Navy and probably circumnavigated the globe a dozen times. Nice duty stations. Never far from a beach!
My oldest brother was the consumate drunken sailor. Did s south american cruise, a Fleet Week in New York, and a North Sea deployment to assist with an exploded oil rig. Mid way through that he came home for a Red Cross leave and was catastrophically injured while home.
We were getting bills for bars he busted up in England and Denmark for like 2 years after. 
. He was on a destroyer but I think he mistook the ships purpose for his MOS.
I’m active duty Navy and was a recruiter. I can answer any questions you have. That being said most of my information is skewed toward Navy.
Navy or Airforce is best for technical fields. Navy has The Navy Nurse Corps which pays for reimburses college tuition once you join.
You can join as an officer but you have to qualify with gpa and a couple other metrics which involves written tests.
All branches pay for school though the GI Bill, however you don’t use that till you get out. While in you can use tuition assistance to work toward a degree if you don’t go to college first.
Anything you need let me know, I’m currently on deployment and have nothing but time between working, lifting, and sleeping.
I wondered why T3nPwnisher’s post was about the Navy. I’ve always figured he was Air Force.
I was saying Top Gun is Navy. They’re Naval Aviators.
I served in the Navy for 28 years and enjoyed it for the most part. As a few people have mentioned, go to college first. If that’s not an option then apply to colleges that have a solid ROTC program. Usually the ROTC requirements are two week days of early morning training and then a weekend requirement of a few hours, not much more than that.
Depending on your location, there might be a lot of opportunities for ROTC. He would get a small paycheck a month, and usually everything else except books. I had several friends that went that route and they enjoyed it. Your service requirement is 4 years active and four years inactive, unless things have changed. I retired in 2019 but still work for the Navy. If you want anymore information just PM me.
I wish your son well with his choice, it can be a bit much to sort through.
It’s not a bad life to be honest. I retired with 70% of my base income. Add in VA disability and life is good. I can’t do anything really fun and crazy anymore but that’s life.