For those that don't know, it's the nation's first private military school, blahblahblah... just wikipedia it

Right now, I'm a sophomore in HS and that place is tops on my list. If i go there, i wanna do the Corps of Cadets (again, look it up) and ROTC, but there's just one tiny problem... I have no idea which military branch to choose!

Marines - Definitely considering, but maybe a little intense?

Army - Quite possibly, but others may be better?

Navy - Only if I can be a pilot and they promise not to call me Seaman.

Air Force - Again with the pilot thing. That would be soooo awesome. But the only reason I wouldn't wanna do that is cause I wouldn't be able to do much infantry/strategic command, which would also be awesome.


So of course the only logical choice is to ask totse.

You need to first decide what you want to do. You'll have a better chance being a pilot in the Navy, as opposed to the Air Force. The Navy has a lot of fixed and rotary wing aircraft, that you can fly. I've met Navy pilots who've flown both types of aircraft, and they were junior officers. It seems the Navy offers their pilots a lot more flexibility than the Air Force offers ours. However, Navy pilots often get stuck with plenty of additional duties (hence how I was able to meet several of them, through my civilian job; they got stuck with escort duty). Our pilots in the Air Force pretty much just fly, and complain about shit, like wanting to buy a pallet of bottled water because mold grows in their canteens when they don't clean them.

You might get more flight hours in the Air Force, depending on what you fly, but this would only really matter if you don't plan on making the military your career. Even then, if you do want to work as a commercial pilot, after you retire from the military, chances are you'll have plenty enough flight hours after 20 years, regardless of which branch you choose and what you fly.

You also say you would like to do "strategic command" type stuff. Every branch has it's share of strategic planning, whether it's planning theater air superiority maneuvers, large scale armor movements, large scale assaults, or maintaining dominance of the seas. You will find every branch involved in large scale strategic planning, and quite often joint strategic planning. The only difference between the branches is the doctrines they each use to accomplish their specific missions. However, the earliest time you'll be able to be really involved in this stuff, is when you have grey hair and gold or silver oak leaves on your collar. These stratigic planners all started out as leaders out in the field, or pilots.