That's a complicated question.
I started at USUHS in 1997. Med school debt calculus is different now (for civilians it's far more expensive and they graduate with a far higher debt load, on average). The military is different too - the patient population has changed as Tricare/etc pushed sick & old people out, overall GME quality has declined (though some specialties remain excellent), pay hasn't kept up with inflation ...
We spent the better part of a decade at war, something I knew was possible but didn't really expect in 1997 since, well, even our involvement in WWII only lasted 4 years.
I'm glad I went to USUHS. The pay up front and the lack of debt allowed me to comfortably have kids years earlier than I would have otherwise, and that benefit is hard to quantify. It's a great school. I had excellent residency training, though about 1/3 of it was at outside institutions (some good and some bad points about that). I did a GMO tour and made the best of it, even enjoyed parts of it despite the delay in training and the opportunity cost of 3 years spent treading professional water. The Navy hasn't abused me and I've been more or less content thus far.
Others' experiences vary.
Would I join today as a pre-med in 2014? I don't know. Maybe? If I could live my life over again 100 times I'd do 100 different things. That wouldn't imply regret for life #1 or #62.
A 7 year payback is a long time especially when you consider that the clock doesn't tick during 4 years of active duty during med school and 3-6+ years of internship/residency training. It's not just 7 years in uniform. It's 14-17, minimum. That's a long time to commit to any job.
