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Jumping in again to say not only was my brother a USAFA grad, but he also flew in the FB-111 Aardvark, and then he went on to fly F-16s before transitioning out. He was a USAF officer, and I was USMC enlisted. My experience and observations are as posted above.
F111's are amazing! Their whole cockpit enclosure ejects. Not just the seat.
I was 9yrs active Marines, then 20yrs Air Force Nat'l Guard.
Depends on what you want to do in my opinion. Have to agree with some of the posters here that one can have pride in any branch they choose. I am former Air Force and Coast Guard (puddle pirates), wife is former Army. My Dad and brother are Marines (you don't "join the Marine Corps", you "become a Marine"...Semper Fi) my wife's Dad is former Navy. Do you want a job closer to civilian life...Air Force. Do you want to be a "warrior"...Marine Corps. Look at each carefully, talk to vets, talk to recruiters...find out as much as you can before you choose.
So how would you compare / contrast the two branches? Bot in the service, then afterwards? Is it Once a Zoomie, Always a Zoomie? Semper Fly? ;-)
Seriously, I'd be interested in hearing about your experience.
I agree that it depends on what you want to do. For me it was a matter of the attitudes of all the recruiters - well, the AF had a 6mo delayed entry and I wanted in immediately. So it wasn't a long thought process, it was a sleazy Army recruiter and a bi-otch Navy recruiter - never even stayed to talk to them. Then the Marines... they could sign me up, which they did on the 14th of December and on the 28th I was on a train to Parris Island. Just prior to that I was travelling with carnivals.
There's nothing else like the Marine Corps and Marine troops are the best. It's an experience that can never be duplicated. The Air Wing side of the Corps (Semper Fly! ROFL) will do about the same for you as any aviation maintenance career.
The Air Force - well, the Guard is different but the AF budget is much bigger, the bases are generally better and the accommodations are better. The Air Force won't push you until you hurt yourself then expect you to give 110% injured. I think furthering your education is easier in the AF. It's more like a 9-5 job, imo.
In the Air Guard I was able get a federal job as a technician so I was working on my "civil service" time along with my military time. So I've got 19 yrs federal and 29 yrs military. I got out a few years ago but can't collect my military retirement until I'm 60. Really glad I don't have to put play wargames. It stopped being fun somewhere in my 40's. I sure can shoot an M16, though!!
But if you haven't seen the Aussies fly an FB-111, you haven't seen an FB-111 fly.
I was at a Reconnaissance Air Meet (RAM 87?) at Bergstrum Air Base in Austin and the Aussies w/F111's were there. I spent more time gawking at the pilots than the aircraft. I was an ejection seat mech so their egress system fascinated me.
I was at a Reconnaissance Air Meet (RAM 87?) at Bergstrum Air Base in Austin and the Aussies w/F111's were there. I spent more time gawking at the pilots than the aircraft. I was an ejection seat mech so their egress system fascinated me.
We had the Aussies play once a year in COPE THUNDER in the Philippines during the mid-80s when I was there. The rules at the Crow Valley range were technically supposed to be the same as at any Air Force range in the States but, well, not exactly.
Experiencing an Aussie 111 crew doing near MACH 1 at nearly treetop level across a mountain range, into and out of a valley, at close to treetop level depending on the terrain following radar--right over your head--was a rush.
Next best thing: Riding in an Aussie C-130 through that same range doing a pallet drop--with him avoiding simulated STRELLA fire. Be sure to do that on an empty stomach. Never saw a Hercules darned near hover before. Aussies are scary-good at that stuff.
True United States Marine Corps would give you one of theirs Kidneys , as a rule of thumb they also treat other service men and women with honor and respect. I remember taking a military hop on a USMC Plane from a USAF base in Anchorage Alaska down to El Toro Marine Air Station CA ( Being A US Coast Guard man ) when we landed and disembarked from the air plane a USMC walked up to me and invited me to dinner and introduced me to his wife , and got his car and gave me a lift to Norton AFB and turned down all offers of gas money from me. I took another military hop this time USAF jet from Norton AFB to Homestead AFB Florida were I stayed in the Miami area a while before I went home to Tulsa OK.
Really the USMC treat you like a brother or sister , but theirs amenities don't live up to those of the USAF Like my military hop from Norton AFB to Homestead AFB was on a small USAF jet with a Lt. Colonel in it and that was real weird to me because high ranking officers aren't friendly toward enlisted personel in the USCG , I remember some AFB even had free USAF taxi cab like vehicles for enlisted persons if I'm remembering it right for those that had to go all the way across base in a short period of time. In the USCG or other military branches that would have been ridiculous this all happened in 1977.
from a USAF base in Anchorage Alaska down to El Toro Marine Air Station CA ( Being A US Coast Guard man ) when we landed and disembarked from the air plane a USMC walked up to me and invited me to dinner and introduced me to his wife , and got his car and gave me a lift to Norton AFB and turned down all offers of gas money from me. I took another military hop this time USAF jet from Norton AFB to Homestead AFB Florida were I stayed in the Miami area a while before I went home to Tulsa OK.
My wife and young son were attempting to take a hop on a C-130 from Clark AB to Kadena, Okinawa, to meet me. It should have been a 3-hour flight (Cue "Gilligan's Island" theme: "...a three hour flight, a three hour flight").
I'm waiting at Kadena, and time passes. The air terminal reps swore there was no flight from Clark due at all that day, yet when I called back to Clark, those terminal reps swore they had boarded the plane. Eventually I discover that the Navy ran another terminal at the other end of the runway, and apparently the two did not talk.
I went over there and discovered the C-130 they took from Clark was a Navy plane. It left Clark and went down to Cubi Point NAS, where my wife and son got bumped. They had no idea where my family might be, because Cubi had no transient family quarters.
As it turned out, they had been invited to spend the night in a Marine barracks--an actual quonset hut. The Marines gave them bunks at one end and strung blankets up for privacy. When they had to use the latrine, the Marines posted a guard.
The next day, they got on a C-130 that took them on to Kadena.
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