Army or Air Force?

[FaithBuild18]

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I can't really decide which one to take.

The Air Force told me I won't even be trained with firearms. That was actually a disappointment to me. The Army told me if I joined the Army I would. I'm a somewhat "gritty" guy, so I feel like my personality would fit better in the Army than in the Air Force.

But everyone tells me the Air Force is the better option, with better working conditions. And my fiancee wants me to pick the Air Force over the Army, since it's "further" from the front lines.

It looks like the 4 year scholarships are exactly the same. Is there ANY difference in the scholarships for the two branches? Is there any difference between the way the sign on bonus is handled?

Can somebody tell me some pros and cons of the two branches?

No, no Navy, I don't like boats, ships, or submarines.

 

[USArmyHPSP]

Ahhh, hell. It's lunch time and I'm bored so I'll jump in.

1. Army is currently offering an accession bonus of 20K less taxes. Air Force isnt.
2. Most Army dentists I know say they work a 45 or 50 hour week in heat and air conditioning - I wish I only worked 50 hours/week.
3. No difference at all in the two scholarships.

It eventually comes down to how happy can you and your family be if you are moved some place not in the top 5 choices. Do you feel that being on the east coast is going to be ok when you have your heart set on California? Those of us who have been around the Army for any period of time will tell you to a man, that we've been able to see things and work with/for the best people imaginable. I hung up the uniform 25 years ago, but in my opinion, if you have to work someplace, working for Army medicine is the best job in the world.

 

[dnt0711]

Apply first, decide later. All scholarships are getting very competitive and its mostly has to do with the timing of you application for getting accepted. AF has very few scholarships to hand out, so they are just more competitive in general. Keep your options open and apply to them all, if you ask me.

 

[FaithBuild18]

I have already applied to both and have been told that my chances look good from each branch.

Air Force told me they are in fact offering the $20k bonus as well.

One thing I am wondering is what sort of residency/specialization programs the Air Force offers. The Army told me all about theirs, and they sound pretty darn good. Can the Air Force compete with that?

 

[coolslugs]

Army has its own medical department (AMEDD), Air Force does not. More promotional opportunities for the Army in the long run. Specializing opportunities should be the same for both, both offers top notch training.

I have not heard of the Air Force offering a bonus with HPSP. They have no reason to as their scholarships are the hardest to compete for.

 

[Roto Picante]

I would like to hear from AFDDS on this but I am 99% sure that AF isn't offering any sort of sign on bonus.

 

[UCSFx2017]

I heard Air Force is more family-oriented and are less likely to ship you out overseas for as long a period a time as the other two branches do. But you won't get a sign-on bonus with AF.
You don't have to be in the military to be a firearms enthusiast. With Youtube and the second amendment, you can learn all you want about firearms. You don't have to be in the Army to play with just M4's and M9's. As a civie, you get AR-15's, 92fs, and then some.

 

[FaithBuild18]

I would like to hear from AFDDS on this but I am 99% sure that AF isn't offering any sort of sign on bonus.

Man... my recruiter seemed like such an honest guy too. He's so cool. I can't believe he lied if you're right.

I guess in his defence, after going through this two times now I feel like the recruiters are actually really honest with what they know, the problem is that they themselves are lied to, and/or they simply don't know/aren't told everything.

 

[toothster]

Man... my recruiter seemed like such an honest guy too. He's so cool. I can't believe he lied if you're right.

I guess in his defence, after going through this two times now I feel like the recruiters are actually really honest with what they know, the problem is that they themselves are lied to, and/or they simply don't know/aren't told everything.

When I got a 3 year HPSP with the AF last year, they offered me a 20 K "bonus" if I agreed to add one more year to my pay pack time. That may be what your recruiter is talking about.

 

[AFDDS]

The AF is not offering the $20K bonus.

As far as which one, that will be very subjective. Obviously, I am biased toward the AF, but you really cannot go wrong either way.

-Specialty opportunities are almost identical and they will be world class either way
-Promotion opportunities are almost identical (AF is 100% qualified to Maj and Lt Col. Not sure about Army)
-Great people in both services
-Deployments are the same length now
-Army does have AMEDD that isn't under the "line" side and the AF doesn't. However, can't say this is always a bad thing either. Both have their advantages at times
-Pay and bonuses are the same

 

[FaithBuild18]

The AF is not offering the $20K bonus.

As far as which one, that will be very subjective. Obviously, I am biased toward the AF, but you really cannot go wrong either way.

-Specialty opportunities are almost identical and they will be world class either way
-Promotion opportunities are almost identical (AF is 100% qualified to Maj and Lt Col. Not sure about Army)
-Great people in both services
-Deployments are the same length now
-Army does have AMEDD that isn't under the "line" side and the AF doesn't. However, can't say this is always a bad thing either. Both have their advantages at times
-Pay and bonuses are the same

Thank you very much for the information.

 

[jfoz]

True or not, I have heard conflicting reports on this from people in HPSP and posts on here: You MUST participate in a military match and you MUST accept if you are matched? This might be a deal-breaker for me; I want to serve in the military but I would like the option to decide which residency I choose rather than having to do early-decision military. If I MUST take a military residency then is there a way to make that my time paid back? Or am I forced to accrue more time owed when it is out of my control? Just want some clarification...I am currently torn between Army and AF, but also on the ropes with my recruiter -- I am in at a med school already, but will need a waiver since MCAT is short by 1 pt. Please share your thoughts...

 

[LogOff]

True or not, I have heard conflicting reports on this from people in HPSP and posts on here: You MUST participate in a military match and you MUST accept if you are matched? This might be a deal-breaker for me; I want to serve in the military but I would like the option to decide which residency I choose rather than having to do early-decision military. If I MUST take a military residency then is there a way to make that my time paid back? Or am I forced to accrue more time owed when it is out of my control? Just want some clarification...I am currently torn between Army and AF, but also on the ropes with my recruiter -- I am in at a med school already, but will need a waiver since MCAT is short by 1 pt. Please share your thoughts...

This is the dental forum. You're not going to get much Med info here.

 

[jfoz]

This is the dental forum. You're not going to get much Med info here.

apologies, I meandered here searching for info, thanks.

 

[vinnie83]

I can't really decide which one to take.
The Air Force told me I won't even be trained with firearms. That was actually a disappointment to me. The Army told me if I joined the Army I would. I'm a somewhat "gritty" guy, so I feel like my personality would fit better in the Army than in the Air Force.

If you want to play with guns go buy one and take it to a local gun range on the weekends. I'm pretty sure for either branch you will be required to qualify with M9 and M4/M16 when you get commissioned and maybe re qualify prior to any deployments and maybe a few other times during your career. In total you're looking at a day on the range shooting a minimal amount of ammo each time you qualify (maybe a few times in the 4 years you would owe). Yes, you will be going into the military, but you will be in dentistry, not combat arms.

As for the AF being further from the front lines-I have yet to see a dentist from any branch in a deployed location anywhere other than one of the large bases like Bagram, Balad, or Kandahar and those places are about as far as you can get from the front lines and still be in country.

I'm AF (no experience yet in dentistry), but I have worked a lot with the Army and based on my experience the Army generally (the exceptions are rarely in anything support related) doesn't have as nice facilites or equipment. Both big Army and big AF seem to be run more by bean counters and bureaucrats so I'm not sure being a dentist in either one will fit your gritty personality. In my old job we had a lot of guys who cross trained from the Army or Marines and quality of life was often one of many factors that influenced their decisions.

Either way you're going to get a very expensive education paid for and get a lot of good training and experience. Not sure you can really go wrong with either one.

 

[Tiankum]

I can't really decide which one to take.

The Air Force told me I won't even be trained with firearms. That was actually a disappointment to me. The Army told me if I joined the Army I would. I'm a somewhat "gritty" guy, so I feel like my personality would fit better in the Army than in the Air Force.

But everyone tells me the Air Force is the better option, with better working conditions. And my fiancee wants me to pick the Air Force over the Army, since it's "further" from the front lines.

It looks like the 4 year scholarships are exactly the same. Is there ANY difference in the scholarships for the two branches? Is there any difference between the way the sign on bonus is handled?

Can somebody tell me some pros and cons of the two branches?

No, no Navy, I don't like boats, ships, or submarines.

I would go Army if I had my choice between the two. Bigger branch=more people to work on and more opportunities to do different procedures...depending on your CD of course.

 

[yappy]

To play devils advocate:

I have heard that the living sit with the AF is nicer than in the army. I have a friend who is in army and the first thing he told me was that the AF tends to be more family oriented and provides a higher quality of life.

Having said that, in full disclosure, I am in the running for the Army HPSP. I approached the AF but was told my GPA was not high enough to be considered for their scholarships.

I would go Army if I had my choice between the two. Bigger branch=more people to work on and more opportunities to do different procedures...depending on your CD of course.

 

[krmower]

To play devils advocate:

I have heard that the living sit with the AF is nicer than in the army. I have a friend who is in army and the first thing he told me was that the AF tends to be more family oriented and provides a higher quality of life.

Having said that, in full disclosure, I am in the running for the Army HPSP. I approached the AF but was told my GPA was not high enough to be considered for their scholarships.

In the Army the majority of dentists I know choose to live off post. I am not alluding that this is related in any way to living conditions on base or anything like that. Some may do it because of specific school districts they want their kids in, or the opportunity to buy a house, etc...

Therefore the point about living conditions for family members is a moot point since my experience is that your family lives in the community of your choosing. In 11 years of being in the Army, the major interaction my family has with the military is for medical care...you can even elect out of that and join Tricare Standard and pay a co-pay if you want to.