Which branch of the military should I join?

US Navy or Air Force= 3 hot meals a day, 4 if you count midrations. A soft bed to sleep in every night and you don't really have to worry about a bullet or IED with your name on it. On the other hand if you are a risk taker who likes to camp in tents and eat cold prepackaged food, go Army or Marines. That's the basic thought process. All the forces have Specialties that can become lifelong careers in or out of the service. Do very careful resrarch with post service career goals strongly in mind.

If I were going to be an Engineering Officer and had it all to do over again... Navy Seabees.

But it's really half a dozen of one and 6 of the other. Figured out where you'll be stuck when you're stateside and decide if you can live with that.

What is your objective for joining the military? My personal opinion, as far as combat and humanitarian missions are concerned, would be the Marines. Advancement depends on your performance, how well you master your MOS, your commanding officers, and a number of other criteria. Again, my opinion, the Marines are the most disciplined. If your enjoy water, go Navy. You can't go wrong with the Army. I believe the Army offers a better selection of MOS that are beneficial to obtaining employment Post-Military. I would suggest you talk to all three, take their tests and see what each branch has to offer prior to selecting one. See who offers you the best deal.

(Join to see)
Navy.

Depends of the type of engineer you are. Aeronautical then go Air Force.

The Navy's mission is basically the same in both peacetime and wartime, so we deploy a lot. With the Marines, the Navy is also the only service which is to be maintained, not raised, according to the Constitution. That said, get the best deal you can. It all boils down to opportunity and what you wish to do.

First off I'm retired enlisted Navy (Desert Shield/Storm Vet). My father retired from the Navy Reserve as an O-6 with 12 years of active duty (Nam Vet) and 16 years reserve duty, and 25 years at Northrop Grumman as an Electrical Engineer working mostly on Navy combat systems. When I was enlisting and choosing the branch of service, he asked me only one question "You are in a War, where would you rather be? In a foxhole with bullets and bombs going off (Army, Marines, and even Air Force and Navy Seabees)? Or on that big steal ship? Granted if that ship gets hit, you mite have to swim." He also told me what my grandfather (Enlisted Army during D-day invasion) told him before he joined "I don't care what you do with your life, But don't join the F*cking Army!" The Army is very different today (I am now an Army contractor), so I don't think it is nearly as bad as when my grandfather was in.

Never discount the Air Force, especially as an engineer. However depending on what kind of engineering, some services might offer better opportunities where as the Air Force could potentially turn you into an acquisitions officer. Still Electrical Engineers in the Air Force have great opportunities of becoming Cyberspace Warfare Officers. This is still a new career field and the units and just starting to get formed, but it is an excellent community which offers more opportunities outside the military when you decide to move on.

I think the bottom line question comes down to what do you want to do in the military? Do you want to fly, spend months on a ship, etc? To better advise you, you need to provide more specifics about what you want to do and you might find that we can offer insights to what all the services, including the Air Force, have to offer. As much as folks on here love to tease the Air Force, in my experience both deployed and back home, we are highly sought after for our intelligence, maturity, and technical skills.

I started off in the Army; now I am in the Air Force Reserves. I assume that you are looking into being an officer. So here is my two cents from my experience; if you want to lead people and be involved in the workings of your unit then the Air Force is a good option. If you want to be more removed from the action and just direct from a far, the Army is a good choice. Now I was not combat arms so I can not speak from that perspective, but my Army Commanders and Platoon leaders made it a point to avoid the enlisted men as much as possible, for the most of my 6 years in the Army I didn't even know who the Platoon leader was. My Air Force commanders and Maintenance Officers are way more involved with the people they command; they want to build trust. Cant speak to USMC or US Navy.

Thank you to everyone for your responses. They've all helped me put my decision in better perspective and they've all helped me understand which questions I should be asking before I decide on my branch. The hardest part of trying to make a decision like this is knowing which questions to ask before making the leap. So once again thank you to everyone and I should know which i'm joining before the end of the semester.