Originally Posted by quaileman

My first advice to you is fly Navy, not USMC. The Marines are an extremely proud and professional organization and I have the utmost respect for them but they are always left at the bottom of the barrel in the military budget game. I would also say that greater than 50% of their pilots fly helos. If flying 15 combat loaded, hard charging marines into a hot LZ while max performing your helo is your bag then do it. You have a better shot at fixed-wing in the Navy. The biggest aircraft the Marines fly is C-130's and they do not have many. They may have all transferred to reserve squadrons but I'm not sure. Another question you should ask is if you are given an aviation guarantee. You may be competing for a slot and could get ground, supply, intel, etc and still be committed to at least four years of active duty in a job you may not want. Remember, as a Marine you are a rifleman first, your job second. Pay and bennies are good and so are advancement oppurtunities. O1 to O3 are automatic based just on time in service. Two years to make O2, and two more to make O3. After that your record will determine advancement after five more years as an O3. Same base pay food allowance for equal ranks across all services. Then variances by location for housing allowance. Pilots get flight pay ranging up to $850 month based on yrs of flying service. Don't get married anytime soon. If the Marines wanted you to have a wife they would have issued you one. It is much easier going on deployments, detachments, last minute tasking, etc. when you do not have anyone at home asking when your coming home/leaving again. I would say family commitments is the #1 reason guys punch out. This holds true for the Navy too. Life as a Navy pilot has been great. You will go places you've never heard of, do cool things, make life-long friends, and get paid to do it. Oh and you will be flying too. Grades and extra curiculars are key. Your life begins now wether its the military, med/law school, or whatever so get the best grades you can. BTW, see if you are med qualified to fly (20/20 vision correctable, no asthma, bad joints, serious knee injuries etc.) You must be aeromedically qualified before you ever get the flight billet so if you think you may have an issue, ask to talk with a flight surgeon before you sign anything. If your college has a NROTC unit, you should go over and talk to them. You can take the Naval Science courses, be a part of their unit and not be on scholarship. You may be able to apply for one in following years. Good luck.