Should I pursue becoming a USAF Officer (ALO) or a USMC Officer?

And I'd seen you'd said you're bachelors already...it's obviously help to know if you also had associates along the way, as well as your grades, GPA, and specific STEM and/or non-STEM actual course titles, so far as you might care to elaborate at all....

I see quite often a good many career/educ questions like yours, and, whenever I see them, I try my genuinely level best to give an accurate description of what day-to-day life on active is actually like. I was Army ROTC 3 yrs, on scholarship the latter 2 yrs. of that period, I nearly got into what was termed at the time "summer camp", which was held then at Ft. Bragg; however, I had an ankle sprain, my run time shot up above the 2 miles in 18 mins. needed in fatigues and combat boots, so I couldn't finish that program. Stupidly, in retrospect at the time, I didn't stay to do a second bachelors in bio, I'd been elec engrg (EE), I also went to the wrong recruiter, who brought me in as a line EE, which is the AFSC you see for me, for the simple reason that I impulsively, both because my father had raised my next-younger brother and myself to on in, and because my next-younger brother was, at the time, a midshipman at USMMA Kings Point (I commissioned him when he finished, while I was USAF active duty), I didn't go to grad school for my masters and Ph.D., or go for clinical training, as I'd wanted bioengineering, and to have been on the clinical side, which, needless to say, I never got a chance to do at all, as there was a major EE shortage in USAF at the time. The USAF OTS recruiter I'd spoken with, a SSgt, listened to my whole saga, and explicitly told me to walk out of his office, and go see the recruiter for the USAF Biomed Science Corps (BSC), as the guy was right down the hall. I didn't know then that bioengineering had its own AFSC under the PSC, 9124F, which, had I known, you and I would obviously not be having this conversation now, needless to say. USAF OTS at the time was at Lackland, it's at Maxwell now, as you most likely know. I was denied once, mainly because of what happened with the Army ROTC; I appealed, writing an extremely detailed letter to the USAF OTS board, and was allowed to go. When that USAF OTS recruiter told me what he did, I said, stupidly, and naively, "Nah, I'm fine, I'll go with you," essentially; needless to say, I wound up in the wrong place, doing the wrong work, under the wrong people, even though I was trained for it, paradoxically; I also practically needed to have my head physically slammed into the pavement of my installation to learn what was expected of me day to day, how to organize my work, how to work under civil servants, NOT just active duty (trust me, you'd have to, regardless of svc, I assure you). Toward the end, I actually started to learn how to function halfway decently in the role, though, I assure you as well, I had to learn the myriad inner workings of so-called "additional duties" (as would you, I promise), namely, Company Grade Officers Council (CGOC), professional military education (PME) coursework that they were REAL serious about, I promise, handling disaster preparedness for my unit, spending a day with the base commander of my installation, charity drives, helping a Civil Air Patrol (CAP) cadet squadron when I had time, and also being tasked with looking into an accident a SrA had with a USAF truck, wherein it had slipped on ice on a snow-covered parking lot, as to whether or not he warraned nonjudicial punishment (NJP), specifically, Article 15, and, in all likelihood, being fined from his pay for the repairs (I found, after much conscientious digging, that it wasn't his fault, thankfully). My installation also had active duty, Guard, and Reserve from all svcs, incl. USMC, several of whom were in the BOQ with me, and with whom I'd chat a good deal, on multiple occasions. We also had allied foreign-national commissioned whom I'd see all the time, I also, before going USAF OTS, through which I was recycled once, and actually had to go through twice while I was there, saw ALL the recruiters, for ALL the svcs, I chatted with USMC OCS recruiters, though that wasn't for me. I only learned much later about USMC platoon leaders course (PLC), which is a USMC analogue to NROTC, though I did look at both USMC OCS, as well as the aviation program, AOCS, which is run for both Navy as well as USMC by USMC drill sergeants, of course. I had some iea that the US Public Health Svc. (USPHS) had an active-duty component; however, I never applied to it, or, once again, had I done so, in all likelihood, you and I would once again not be having this discussion, of course. I also only knew in passing of the NOAA Commissioned Corps, as their direct-commission indoc program, their OIS, so called, called BOTC, was and still is actually a tenant at USMMA Kings Point where my brother was, I'd seen the building a couple of times, and actually wandered through it when he'd graduated, the day I commissioned him into USNR Merchant Marine Reserve (USNR-MMR).

Our Dad had also been 4 yrs. enlisted Navy as an aircraft mechanic on Grumman TBM Avengers; our Dad's sister's husband, one of our uncles, had been a radio operator for Gen. Eisenhower. One of our Mom's first cousins, who eventually went for law, had been Army armor commissioned in Germany during the Cold War in the Fulda Gap. My wife's Dad got a Bronze Star, we just got a combat "V" approved for it, for walking through a minefield to lead his 90th Div. unit's artillery fire in Pettite du Hettange, a small French town near the Moselle River, during the crossing of it in the Battle of Nancy. Her stepdad had been active-duty Navy surface combat on multiple destroyer escorts in the Pacific during both WW2 and Korea, sheels falling, bullets whizzing, kamikazes falling, freezing off the Korean coast in the dead of winter. Last my Mom's Dad had actually also very briefly been USMC during the buildup for Iwo Jima, I'd found out much later, though USMC released him, as he wasn't adapting well; he never spoke of it himself at all later on, obviously. I've also got multiple friends who were Navy, one prior 6-yr enlisted electronics tech for radar, another who went to Navy OCS, I actually visited him there while on active in USAF with other non-active friends, and other friends and acquaintances who'd been SUNY Maritime College, one of whom who'd been USMC enlisted before he went to the school, he didn't get through USMC boot camp at Parris Island, though he finished his USNR time as an O-4 later on. I'm total perm disabled now, I became ill, why is far too complex to go into here; I was noncombat, I'd volunteered for Desert Shield/Storm, I actually have the letter thinking me for having been on the list, I just never got to go; one of the guys in the Pentecostal church my wife likes that we go to had been USMCR, he went through all of it, needless to say, by contrast with him, I think myself rather a "chocolate soldier", if you will, and am obviously quite envious, as every year, the pastor of the church has him, me, and one of the other pastors, who'd been ARNG, get up and do the hold-the-flag thing for Meml. Day, 4th of July, and Veterans Day.

So, here's my point: I haven't necessarily seen everything, certainly; however, I have seen a good deal. The O-9 who'd commanded my installation had been a B-17 tail gunner in WW2 in Europe, who'd gone West Point after, then went USAF. My unit commander, an O-6 waiting to pin on O-7, I actually got to sit with for an entire hour, during which time, I assure you, by the end of the discussion, I was, most definitely, a limp dishrag walking out of the room. I only learned later that he'd received the DFC in Vietnam, and, among other feats, had flown as a forward air controller (FAC) in O-2s, armored Piper Cubs, if you haven't heard of them, on at least 150 combat missions (my jaw obviously dropped as I'd read that, you understand). I've met several general officers, not many, however, a few, at least; I also met one former Apollo astronaut, who'd been a friend of the USAF OTS commandant, and managed to stammer out a few ostensibly intelligent questions, as he'd been invited to speak with all the science/engineering majors. I also met another Apollo astronaut who'd spoken at a college near my wife and myself as well, a long while later, after I'd been out a long time.

Now, here is the heart of the matter: Having told you the basic gist of my story, trust me on something, will you please? You can plan this out, and plan it out, till the cows come home; I wasn't prior enlisted, though many I knew at USAF OTS had been, both USAF, as well as intersvc transfers, they all pretty much had an easier time adjusting; one guy in the class after mine, I'd read awhile ago, actually finished out as an O-10, getting his whole career exactly right, not one single mistake, which, of course, made me feel pretty small, I assure you, obviously.

It doesn't matter which svc you go into, trust me on that; all have their unique characteristics, all have their commonalities. I can virtually assure you that, regardless of what you might be told about any svc, from the day you'd go warrant or commissioned, you'd be expected to get, minimum, as masters, quite literally from day one; trust me, been there, done that (BTDT). You'd also be expected to go through all of the PME for your own svc, as well as for other svcs, whether nonresident by correspondence, or in residence, after a couple of tours. You'd be expected to do intersvc assignments, as well; one senior O-6 in my unit, not the unit CO, had spent time in an overseas exchange with an allied country, he always encouraged us to submit for that, he'd very strongly support if, I, for my part, was quite simply too stupid to listen. And, among all the other "additional duties" I had, I was expected to run the booth for the winter carnival where I was, which I did, using a microcomputer one of the NCOs in my unit, before I was ever assigned there, had extensively programmed with video games (I obviously had nothing to do with creating them, I merely used them to entertain kids at the carnival, of course). I also had one other initial assignment I pretty crassly got myself switched out of, even though I might likely have been sent to Europe periodically as part of it, all because I HAD to do science (even though it was all the WRONG science, stuff I'd never wanted to be part of back then). In short, I had to learn, all too frequently, the hard way, that I was there to serve, not be served; that was what I'd agreed to, and, in often forgetting that at first, that was why I all-too-frequently found my head being quite literally effectively smashed into pavement, to get me to understand that point.

I can't speak to what you're explicitly asking, in terms of actual combat assignments; I can say, it'd obviously help not just myself, but all others here, if you could possibly elaborate at all on more specifics, so far as possible. Namely, what training you've had thus far, whether associates or bachelors, at all; any AP coursework you did in high school (it'd help give an idea of your turn of mind); your specific interests, whether on STEM material, or non-STEM, as the case my be. Also, hobbies, interests, reading, what sports you do, incl. any martial arts (I've always loved aikido and iaido). Next, what is your ultimate object? Do you want to try to do a full 20-30 yr. career as commissioned? Would you consider warrant? What other svcs have you spoken with? Do you have any flight interests, e.g., Army WOCS for rotary-wing, esp. at that only needs high school, minimum?

Would you want to go enlisted first? Simultaneous Member Program (SMP) that Army has? Would you want an ROTC at all? Would USMC PLC interest you as an alternative to an ROTC, whether Army ROTC, NROTC, AFROTC? Would you want to try to spare yourself the very often real aggravation of being expected to have a masters, minimum, as I'd explained, by trying to get at least to that level BEFORE you go in? Would you possibly want to use an ROTC or maybe USMC PLC to go grad level at all, which I'm aware exists, at least for ROTC, PLC I'm not as sure about? Do you have any interest in law at all? Where would you envision you'd want to be in, say, 5 yrs? Maybe 10 yrs? Or 15 yrs?

Understand, OK? I'm NOT telling you all the foregoing to dissuade you; my object is to teach you, to make you aware of the very real day-to-day cultural and professional realities of such life, NOT to merely answer, superficially, questions, about specific AFSCs, or specific MOS types. I explained what I did to illustrate what exposure I've had; also, more importantly, the realities of what can go wrong, if one merely leaps impulsively into going in, WITHOUT adequate forethought, research, and/or planning, ahead of time, that's all I'm trying to convey to you, honest.

When one does this, the life involved isn't merely taxing; it's a life-altering, fundamentally life-changing event, also being entirely honest. I only met my wife much later on, long after I'd gotten out; when I'd been doing my allied-health clinical doctorate (we shut my license off several years ago due to my whole disability thing), one of my clinical attendings had been a USPHS O-6, really rare for what I'd been training to do. I'd VERY seriously wanted to have tried to go back into USPHS on active, as their age limit was and is much higher, 44, I believe, plus, I had the 4 yrs. prior, which would've given me until 48, after which I'd have tried for an age waiver, as I'd done serious grad school besides the doctorate, and, occasionally, I'd heard, such waivers for such further training were "occasionally" allowed, "maybe". Needless to say, I couldn't get it, which, of course, thrilled me no end, as I'm quite sure you can no doubt infer, though, God knows, I tried, at the very least.

There's another possibility I'd suggest to you, however, it'd be for you to decide if you want to look into it at all. There's a group called SGAUS, http://www.sgaus.org, that is the professional association of all the state defense forces (SDFs), the supplements to the Natl. Guard, both ARNG and ANG. In NY, where my wife and I are, it's called the NY Guard, run along ARNG lines; however, it is most definitely not Federally recognized, and is NOT the Natl. Guard; there are very strict differences, along the lines of the Geneva Convention. NY State also has the NY Naval Militia (NYNM), which IS Federally recognized, however, only because 95%+ of its members are drilling members of the USNR, USMCR, and USCGR, who drill with NYNM for retirement points and/or pay.

I suggest it to you for various reasons: First and foremost, few, I've found, generally know of it. Second, our dentist had been thinking of going ARNG through a friend of his who'd been trying to get him to join, which he eventually did. However, he wasn't sure of the life would be for him, so I, for my part, in a fit of perspicacity incarnate, suggested he try the NYG first, just to test the waters, rather than diving into the pool head first, if you will. He did so, liked it, then applied for ARNG as a dentist, got accepted, and NYG released him to go Federal instead.

I explain that story for a couple of other reasons: My understanding is that the SDFs do not and typically normally cannot, barring some weird emergency for humanitarian relief, or being specially tasked by the governor of a state and/or territory, be deployed outside state and/or territorial borders. They're very real militaries, with real enlistement contracts, in the NYG, I think, for 3 yrs., minimum; they have their own periodic training, their own OCS programs, all the rest. Generally, as with our dentist, my understanding has been that if one goes into an SDF, there "might" be the possibility of resigning, I'd asked about that with NYG, as I'd obviously looked into the whole thing quite heavily, as I'd also very seriously thought about trying to be of use with them, you understand. However, once you're activated, as happened during 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy with NYG, you were in, obviously, for the duration or the emergency, whatever it was. However, as with our dentist, IF one gets into a Federal branch, whatever component, I've also generally understood that Federal obviously takes precedence over state and/or territory, and one can then be released, as he was to go Federal instead, once again. The SDFs are NOT like the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) or USCG Auxiliary, both of which I've also looked into as well, in very great depth; they're real militaries, as I'd said, however, they fall strictly under the governors of states and/or territories, and are there to supplement the Natl. Guard, both ARNG and ANG. NYG actually had an army division, and an air division at one point; however, I gather the air division idea kind of flopped, so it was eventually dropped, which was why NYG was now redone strictly along the lines of the army model, not the air model.

Also, there are numerous other alternatives you haveven't likely looked into. Namely, active Guard and Reserve (AGR); Guard Tech; and Reserve Tech. Further, you said nothing about warrant as I'd pointed out before, nor what other svcs you'd even considered and/or looked at. I can obviously deluge you with such more info on all those, should you want it; however, I've been told that I can often tend to overwhelm with too many rapid-fire submissions to questions like yours by admin on here, which was why I figured I'd give you a really thorough, detailed explanation, so you could really go over it in depth, think it through, and decide if you might care to hear more. I might try sending you a few such further links, besides the SGAUS one I've included here; however, obviously, not wishing to overwhelm you, and having promised admin I'd try to avoid doing so, I'll obviously limit what I'd said till you have a chance to possibly elaborate at all, and tell me if you'd care to see anything further in any depth. I hope all that was at least of some use and/or benefit; I hadn't been married when I was in, certainly, in retrospect, I think that might have made a genuine difference in all that happened to me, certainly. As I'd said, my object wasn't to dissuade you; my object was to try to inform you, so you would have, at least from the perspective of all I'd gone through, what actually happened to me, what went wrong, and why, so you'd know how to plan properly, and research the whole thing the right way, ahead of time, OK? Should you care to chat further, I'd be most eager to hear more, no rush, whenever convenient; as I'd said, I tend to get rather engrossed in such career/educ questions as those you'd asked, yours, esp., was quite interestingly phrased, which was also why I'd thought you might find all I've said here of at least some potential use, and/or benefit, I hope it wasn't too much, and would look forward to hearing from you whenever you might have time to answer at all, of course.

Why not consider Physical Therapy....? Your undergraduate degree in exercise physiology is a pretty good prerequisite for the field and doctoral studies. The job outlook is excellent both in the military and in civilian life....and deployments are less likely except when they mobilize a whole hospital.....look at asking the military to put you through PT school on a contract for active duty or AFRES to follow....all branches use physical therapists (well, the good Marines use the medics from the Navy).

Join the Corpse. The Air Force is okay if you can spend many hours siting in a chair or lying on a couch.

https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/amedd-categories/medical-service-corps-jobs/biochemist-physiologist.html

Look specifically at this one next....

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=jag%20scholarships&s_it=loki-tb-sb

This one is on JAG scholarships, if you have any inclination toward law...believe me when I tell you, there's no substitute for being at the top of the intellectual food chain once you'd go in, so, if your GPA is high enough, I'd very seriously, aside from a masters, consider going doctoral first, whether PhD, or JD, I realize you likely have no interest in clinical...once you'd be in, you'd likely have to cram coursework into your normal active-duty tasks, and, believe me, I did my first masters part time, exactly that way, and, candidly, if you can avoid the need to do it that way, believe me, you'd be well off, honest, you've got the time, and if you can get an assistantship, whether graduate (admin), research, or teaching (GA/RA/TA), depending on your GPA, trust me, try, OK? I realize you're likely chomping at the bit to go active duty right now, as I'd said, I can only offer the accumulated wisdom of 20/20 hindsight on my part, in such regards, honest....

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=uscg%20direct%20commission&s_it=loki-tb-sb

These are the USCG direct-commission routes, incl engineering, I'd also expect through OIS-type programs....

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=uscg%20scholarships&s_it=loki-tb-sb

Most generally don't know USCG has their own scholarship programs, I'm once again not saying you'd want it, I'm merely making you aware of it, nothing more, honest....

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=wikipedia%20reserve%20technician&s_it=loki-tb-sb

This search is on the Reserve Technician program, essentially, as I've understood it, the Federal equivalent of Guard Tech....

https://search.aol.com/aol/search?q=national%20guard%20technician&s_it=loki-tb-sb

This search is on the Natl. Guard technician program...here, one is paid by a state and/or territory, yet wears the uniform during the week, drilling during all drill periods...I gather it applies to both ARNG and ANG, as I least I "think" that's the case, at any rate...note the differences between this and AGR....