CK,

Congrats on your opportunities. The decision you're about to make isn't one to take lightly at all and certainly one where you'll want to consider ALL of your options and solicit advice from those that have gone before you. Now that I have stated the obvious, I will tell you what I did.

I was in your shoes as well, could have gone to the USAFA or USNA and also had ROTC scholarships. I never considered the Army as I didn't want to fly helos specifically. The Air Force at the time(91-post Desert Storm) was very very competitive for flight slots out of ROTC(still is I'm sure). The idea of landing on a ship and operating from a ship was very appealing to me for a number of reasons. As for the choice to go to an academy or do the ROTC thing, that is purely a QOL issue while you're there. I chose to do the ROTC thing and live a college life rather than the military life 24/7 at one of the academies. I figured that the end result was the same(an active duty commission) and I may as well have alot of fun doing it. Thats not to say you can't have fun while at an academy, its just different. That being said the Academy folks have a huge network out there that is not to be taken for granted. As for the Navy QOL, its not bad. Sea time sucks, no getting around that, but being deployed right now is common to any service. I think if QOL in the military is what your looking for, then USAF by far has the rest of the services beat.

One of the things that I would tell you is this: If you're using the military flight time as a means to an end to get an airline gig, you might want to reconsider. With all of the budget cuts and the GWOT, you're time away from home is certainly going to be huge, and your flight time most likely won't be what those got 10-15 years ago. For example, 5 years ago, FA-18C pilots leaving their first tour most often always left with over 1000 hours in the jet. Now it's very common for that same pilot to leave with 600-700 in the same amount of time.

If you're interested in military aviation to serve your country, then by all means go for it. The people you will work with regardless of the service you choose, will be some of the most professional and dedicated people you will ever have the pleasure of serving with. The pay isn't all that bad and job security is non issue. No matter what aircraft you fly, from helos to jets to heavies, it's the people you work with who make it fun.

Again this only scratches the surface of what your about to embark on. Just remember, ultimately its about what YOU want to do and what YOU will be happiest doing. Hope this helps.

Safe flying,
Bdger