I agree with what tanker and wannabe said (I'm a Navy guy).
What is a little vague is whether your son has his heart set on airlines, military, or just being a pilot? This is important...
If he wants to be an airline guy, active-duty military is risky becuase you have a fair to very high chance (depending on service) of being assigned helicopters...then you are committed for ten years and may have difficulty getting the fixed-wing time necessary for an airline job. If he reall wants to do airline, I would suggest state school, civilian flight training, then apply for the Air National Guard...the beauty of this is two-fold: 1) you pick the unit(s) you apply to, so you know what type of aircraft you will fly and 2) you can fly at a regional AND in the ANG at the same time and you will soon be very competetive for a major airline job. Helo breakdown by service:
USAF: Some Helos
USN: Plenty 'o Helos
USMC: Even more Helos
USCG: Gobs of Helos
USA: Infinite supply of Helos
If he wants to be a military officer, than pretty much take the first ROTC (or even academy) scholarship that comes along, keeping in mind that he might not get a flying slot immediately or at all. He will need good vision and health to fly military in any event. Military helo jobs can be a lot of fun, if you don't need to get fixed-wing time for the airlines. Another advantage here is that if can get a ROTC scholarship, the government will pay for ANY college (with a ROTC program) that he get's accepted to, even ivy-league!
If he just wants to be a pilot and doesn't care where, do college and flight training, then apply for a fixed-wing ANG slot (also good for airline career). If he doesn't get the guard, apply for OCS (any/all services) on a flight training contract...no guarantee of fixed-wing, but at least he is guaranteed a pilot slot. If he can't get any military flying, then go the civilian route.
Good Luck
Last edited by rickair7777; 05-04-2006 at 10:22 AM.