Fixed wing will be cheaper than rotor….. but will give you the same overall skills.

As with all these things …. there’s a gamble. You may get called to action … but if you’re in a c~~~pit … you have betrer odds.

A good book to read is titled Chickenhawk by Robert Mason …. I think.

Good luck

The major thing I would consider if army warrant officer for helicopters, or Special Forces,

Good advice from ILiveAgain

ILiveAgain wrote:

Get some flying under your belt first. That will boost your trainability and may get you a head start.

I was a medic for over 25 years.  I served with (not in) special forces for about three years.  You DON’T enlist for special forces.  The have high requirements for their ASVAB.  They have a murderously physically challenging selection process. Special Forces Assessment and Selection has an upwards to 80% voluntary withdraw rate, and the selection rate from those that complete the process is even lower.

You enlist to be a soldier.  With your degree you could possibly come in as an officer.  Oddly enough, a lot of the enlisted Spec Ops troopers I met had college degrees.  I met one that had a doctorate in inorganic chemistry.  If you want to be a steely-eyed killer, I would suggest infantry.  But you have to APPLY to be Special Forces after you are in uniform.  If this is a goal for you I suggest you research the physical demands of the selection process.  Also, I would strooooooongly recommend that you don’t go Special Forces if you have flat feet.

The only cause I could see myself fighting for is for freedom from totalitarian regime.
I am well aware that this comment could bite me in the ass in the future, but so be it. Give me liberty or give me death.
As far as fighting for US State Department pursuing illegitimate foreign wars against inanimate subjects – this is something I cannot subscribe under.

I would have loved my career even more if I HAD BEEN SINGLE.

I would go with yes if you got along well with your high school gym teachers. I would go with no if you think gym teachers are a bunch of asshole bullies to be humored when necessary but avoided at best. (I am in the latter group.)

Here’s my story. I was literally raised by sailors. Both my parents were serving officers in the US Navy. Most of my playmates were also military brats. Therefore, I have an insider’s view of things.

When I was coming up on college age, I suggested to mom and dad that I join the USN and use the GI bill to help defray college expenses. They ganged up on me.

“No, no, my son,” they said, “we will finance your college education. You stay a civilian.”

They were absolutely right, although I did not realize it at the time. The canary in the mine shaft was my attitude toward arbitrary authority. I’m simply not cut out for having orders snapped at me. I have tried, really tried, to get along with these types but to no avail. The military would have driven me mad.

For good examples of those who are in the “yes” group, let us review the movie From Here to Eternity. (I don’t watch most of the modern post feminism crap, so no none come to mind.) Burt Lancaster and Ernest Borgnine are good examples. They both had the mindsets needed to make careers in the military.

In the “no” group are Montgomery Clift and Frank Sinatra. Toe the line 100% of the time, go along to get along, was simply not possible for either of them.

A good example of arbitrary authority is Capt. Cuckold, whose wife Burt was screwing and who was a class-A incompetent drunk with petty power. Another is good ol’ Earnest and his penchant for dealing out savage beatings to the defenseless.

You will meet all of these types in civilian life and in the military. The difference is, you can’t be court-marshaled for the simple crime of p~~~ing one of them off in civilian life…. Oh, wait, yes you can these days. They call it an HR reprimand and it usually doesn’t involve savage beatings, but the principle is the same.