Nmma

[marine19860222]

I know a girl that wants to fly for the corps. She is checking out all this stuff and is looking at going to new mexico military academy for 2 years then a naval academy for 4 years or soemthing like that to become a 2Lt in the corps. It makes no sense to me wouldnt it be smarter to go in the corps enlisted and have them pay for your bachelors to become a 2Lt. then go through training to become an aviator. While you are in the military you gain rank, pay, experience, and they also pay for schooling while your learning another trade. So what would be the faster path and waht would be the smarter path? thank you.

[cecilVA]

Not really. Going enlisted then officer or going straight to officer are just two different ways to go about getting your commision, one isn't really better than the other.

If she goes to the naval academy her school is free and she could also get a full or partial ROTC scholarship. If you are enlisted and get your degree it could take a lot longer. I got mine in four years going to school full time, as opposed to part time. Sure some people take a crap load of hours while they are working but that is tough, your grades and/or job could suffer.

If you go enlisted first you do get more pay as an officer but only in the junior ranks, when you hit O-4 its the same as anybody else. The plus side of going enlisted is you do get lots of experience that other officers don't get. Some of the best officers are prior because of their unique experiences. But that isn't necessarily the best and only way to go.

[Norm357]

50,000 people apply to the Naval Academy every year. Only a few are selected. I wish her luck.

[cecilVA]

I personally wouldn't do the academy route, but thats just me ;)

[jaunt10]

true, i've heard nothing real good about Academy life. When i ask Academy buds about how they liked it 99% respond: "I'm glad I did it but wouldnt want to do it again."

[cecilVA]

Yep exactly right. I think the one major advantage is that it is totally free. Other than that I don't think the Academies make better officers than any other commissioning source. Ugh, I could go on all day about the service Academies but I won't ;)

[DltUNH]

In the academia world, nothing beats a military academy's reputation. They may not like the life, but hey if I could get a military education and have that education be comparable to that of an ivy league i'd take that in a heartbeat. The three military academies in the US were in the top 10 schools this year. All the others were your ivy leagues, you do the math.

[ngcsubutterbar]

sorry, the USNA offers what 14 or 15 majors/degree options. If I was going purely academic I wouldn't even look at that institution.

[cecilVA]

In the academia world, nothing beats a military academy's reputation. They may not like the life, but hey if I could get a military education and have that education be comparable to that of an ivy league i'd take that in a heartbeat. The three military academies in the US were in the top 10 schools this year. All the others were your ivy leagues, you do the math.

I'm not talking about their academics. No doubt its difficult, considering at the USAFA everyone gets a BS regardless of your major. And you have to cram it all into four years as opposed to doing it in five. My problem is with the officers that are produced by the academy. I've met WAY too many crappy officers with a chip on their shoulder because they came from the Academy. Now I've also come across some outstanding academy grads. But lets just say I have a preconception in mind whenever I meet someone from the Academy.

[marine19860222]

Yes i might take the route of officer too so i can fly, its always been a dream of mine but i will be enlisted prior to officer, not a 90 day wonder LOL. They need officers with more experience sometimes, Ive heard so many stories and thats why enlisted dont always like officers.

[jaunt10]

well if you go the enlisted route to fly then its going to be an uphill battle. There is also a cutoff for the age that you can enter flight training (27 I believe for Navy and Marine Corps aviators). you have to factor, enlisting, doing your time or more (most likely more than 4 years), then go to college (most likely more than 4 years), graduate then in that time get accepted to be an officer (as i hear now the wait for OCS is over a year). A lot can happen in that time that will inhibit your chances to be become an officer let alone a pilot.

[cecilVA]

Sigh. Being enlisted prior to being an officer does not make you a good officer. I've known my fair share of prior's who were mediocre at best and I've known those with zero military experience who were the best officers. Being a good LEADER makes you a good officer and being enlisted doesn't necessarily teach you how to do that. The reason I'm bringing this up is should you have the privledge of becoming a Marine, you would be well advised to not have this preconception that being prior enlisted makes better officers. It doesn't. There are officers out there who don't have enlisted experience that would run circles around even the best enlisted troops. You will eventually learn how to spot the good officers/senior NCOs and the bad ones.

[marine19860222]

Yes i suppose you are right, i didnt even think about that. But usually if you are an E5 or E6 you will be a good leader. NCO's and SNCO's have a lot of responsibility, but i never know what i am going to do. There are so many options out there and there might be something that better suits me. If i go into logistics or become an engineer i might love that so much that i will keep wanting to do it. Also enlisted gets good offers after 4 years like Embassy guard, or DI sounds sweet. I have heard from every marine that i talked to that embassy guard is the best job in the marines, they said its like having around 8 marines at an embassy, and its a sex fest. Youll be in a different country with all the females and few marines, and where you live there is areas to workout and you have a lot of stuff, that sounds interesting to me.

[cecilVA]

Very true, with the military you sometimes don't know what you really want to do until you are either doing it or doing something else you hate.

As far as the embassy don't get all excited about it b/c its a big party. There are embassies that are in absolute hell holes which you have just a good a shot of getting stuck in. Also you probably didn't know this but ALL Marines at the Embassies are supervised by a civilian Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) Special Agent. That is the only time I can think of where a civilian is in direct operational control of a military unit.

[DltUNH]

Marine1986-
You say you are just going as a reservist, where are you enrolled in for school?? I can help you out with some of this information. I went through the process, hit me back and I'll be more than willing to give you some info.

DLT