How do the Army and Air Force compare?

I would add that it probably depends on a lot on what community one is in within the branches. There may be more difference between Army Infantry and Army Finance for example, as opposed to Army Finance and Air Force Finance. It would be really interesting to get somebody's perspective who has done a similar job in both the Army and the Air Force.

Major nelson hit the nail on the head. As both prior air force and army both are mission oriented but the air force at least in my experience has more a family orientation. TSgt tumble is correct on most of his comments also. I have seen an airmen go off on leadership and it was interesting but anyways I digress.

I joined the Air Force Reserves before I went active duty Army. Living conditions were so much better in Basic and Tech School in the Air Force vs. AIT in the Army. For the most part, in my reserve unit, it was a lot more relaxed. When I crossed over to AD Army, I thought I was in a totally different world. Initially, I had a hard time trying to adjust. But 6 1/2 years later...I don't think I could go back AF.

First, I have not served in the Air Force, so I do not meet the criteria you established to answer the question, however, I have served in joint assignment that included both Army and Air Force personnel (as well as Marine and Navy).

From my perspective, the Air Force appears to be much more "laid back" than the Army in military courtesies, as has been discussed by others. I don't think it is intended as a sign of disrespect, it is just the culture of the that service to be more civilian oriented. Having said that, I think the Air Force gives their NCOs more authority in support services than the Army does. I have seen Air Force NCOs running operations that the Army would have at least a Captain performing a similar duty.

There is one aspect of the Air Force that caused me great aggravation in the past. Back when I was a battalion commander, we would send a company of MPs to Honduras for an enduring security mission that had been going on forever (and I assume still is). We would rotate companies down for 4-months at a time. The company deployed as a unit. Since part of our mission involved security of an Air Force base, the Air Force attached a certain number (25, as I recall) of Air Force Security Force (called Security Police back then) to the Military Police Company. The Air Force personnel lived in the same huts as the Army personnel, ate in the same dining facility, and performed the same duties. However, all deployed Army personnel drew $2.50 "incidental TDY" per day and the Air Force personnel drew $22.50 per day, as I recall. The reason for that was that, while the Army personnel were deployed on "unit orders", the Air Force personnel were deployed on "individual TDY". While the Army personnel all came from the same unit at Ft Riley, for example, the Air Force personnel were from Lackland, Egland, Andrews, Pope, Wright-Patterson, Whiteman, etc., etc... While I certainly understood the rationale for the disparity, it was not a popular thing with the Army troops.

Funny historical note: My dad, also a career Army officer, who was on active duty for over 42 years, was branched Corps of Engineers. When the Army Air Corps became the Air Force, the Army assigned a couple of Engineer regiments/groups to the Air Force to build Air Force bases. This group was known as "Special Category Army With Air Force" (SCARWAF). While they were still in the Army, they served with the Air Force on a permanent basis. According to my dad, who was one of the SCARWAF Group (0-6/COL) commanders, the only difference between the Army and Air Force uniforms, at that time, was the color of the hat and the color of the belt. The Army had brown hats and brown belts and the Air Force had blue. He said that his troops had both colors of hats and belts (even if only authorized the brown) and that, any time SCARWAF personnel were on an Army installation, they wore the blue hat and belt, and, when on an Air Force installation, they wore the brown. In that way, they were always perceived to be "the other service" and nobody ever screwed with them.

Times have changed and standards/conditions change... but I remember being in Honduras staying in crappy tents with only a cot and recycled MRE boxes for furniture. While the Air Force had air conditioning and comfortable furniture and other accommodations to better their living conditions. Yet we were both stationed in the same middle of no where jungle outpost!

Army > Air Force

even on deployment you never see a disgruntled AF person

Air Force cops and Army Infantry might as well be kindred spirits. Both entities have worked with each other in deployed locations during my time in service and Gen. Franks preferred to have Security Forces working alongside his soldiers.

Army drinks their MRE coffee from a field canteen at 0500 from a foxhole waiting for the sun to come up. Airforce complains Starbucks wait is to long at 0900 and thinks it might make them late to "work". ;)

Being an Air Force brat yet going Army there is one big difference due to the role that each branch brings to the armed services. Air Force is very procedural focused as it is integral in how they carry out there mission - its role is to support pilots and their flight crews or nuke crews. In contrast the Army is very mission focused meaning that the end result of completing the mission is top and supporting the boots on the ground on the front lines. In the Army its all about adapting and overcoming and this does not translate so well in a missile silo or flight line environment. I really wouldn't want to see anyone improvising anything with a nuke or a 500 million dollar aircraft. Air Force you have lower level SR's supporting upper level where in the Army this is flipped with upper SR's supporting the privates at the front. This is why you will never see a F-35 pilot with 2 day stubble compared to a scout platoon leader. Different environments require different approaches as air force being more static (air field) and Army more dynamic (battle field) they have very divergent methods in how they engage the enemy. In garrison they are more the same with the Air Force being a little more civilian like when it comes to CoC being more relaxed.