I retired from the Navy last Sept after 22 years.
I think it's pretty silly all the sophomoric attitudes towards the different services. There is not one that is better but there may be one suited for your desires. It's just like anything else, you grow to be a part of it and acquire an affinity for it. Why else would you have persons from all services defending it's place on the podium?
The thing is though, it's not for everyone. The best thing is for the boy to not have any preconceived notions of how it's "supposed" to be. I saw a zillion kids run through my ships who were so dismayed to find that the Navy, the military itself was not what they thought it was then ventured down a path of self-destruction and eventually booted out.
Before going into service a proper and mature attitude helps quite a bit. To us retirees, it was a profession, a career, a way of life, we owned it. Service was not some transient occupation like working at White Castle. That's another pothole on the road to either being an asset or a liability to the service. When a person joins and finds they don't like it, they often create discontent around them, drag others down, make the rest of their stay miserable and a lot more difficult than it really is. Impress upon your son that it's a professional organization, we don't want part-timers. You're either 100% in or 100% out.
In regards to all that, yes, some recruiters can be rather unscrupulous but just like any other "purchase"; you have to educate yourself. There are pluses and minuses to each service it all depends on where your sons interests lie and which service is most accomodating to them. The one factor to keep in mind, and this is a HUGE misconception amongst enlistees and civilians, the paper you sign is NOT a contract. A contract is a document that states obligations required of BOTH parties. Any service can do whatever they want with you once you're in. The government is under no obligation to give you the schooling or duty assignments that you think you're supposed to get. The enlistee is the only one that is obligated and the government is only required to give him 3 hots and a cot.
Normally things are not so dire until there is a conflict and then a lot can happen. Everything is based on the needs of the service, not the individual. Another thing is as we've seen lately, the involuntary extension of service of troops in Iraq. We hear a lot of complaints but if everyone read the fine print, that, and other similar issues wouldn't be a surprise. The sailor or soldier is government issue, a tool, nothing more. What he or she manages to take from that experience and reap from the education and benefits is icing on the cake as far as the government is concerned.
The bottom line is you have to approach service with a very realistic perspective. You may or may not get everything you want, usually you won't but then it was never promised.
I think it's pretty silly all the sophomoric attitudes towards the different services. There is not one that is better but there may be one suited for your desires. It's just like anything else, you grow to be a part of it and acquire an affinity for it. Why else would you have persons from all services defending it's place on the podium?
The thing is though, it's not for everyone. The best thing is for the boy to not have any preconceived notions of how it's "supposed" to be. I saw a zillion kids run through my ships who were so dismayed to find that the Navy, the military itself was not what they thought it was then ventured down a path of self-destruction and eventually booted out.
Before going into service a proper and mature attitude helps quite a bit. To us retirees, it was a profession, a career, a way of life, we owned it. Service was not some transient occupation like working at White Castle. That's another pothole on the road to either being an asset or a liability to the service. When a person joins and finds they don't like it, they often create discontent around them, drag others down, make the rest of their stay miserable and a lot more difficult than it really is. Impress upon your son that it's a professional organization, we don't want part-timers. You're either 100% in or 100% out.
In regards to all that, yes, some recruiters can be rather unscrupulous but just like any other "purchase"; you have to educate yourself. There are pluses and minuses to each service it all depends on where your sons interests lie and which service is most accomodating to them. The one factor to keep in mind, and this is a HUGE misconception amongst enlistees and civilians, the paper you sign is NOT a contract. A contract is a document that states obligations required of BOTH parties. Any service can do whatever they want with you once you're in. The government is under no obligation to give you the schooling or duty assignments that you think you're supposed to get. The enlistee is the only one that is obligated and the government is only required to give him 3 hots and a cot.
Normally things are not so dire until there is a conflict and then a lot can happen. Everything is based on the needs of the service, not the individual. Another thing is as we've seen lately, the involuntary extension of service of troops in Iraq. We hear a lot of complaints but if everyone read the fine print, that, and other similar issues wouldn't be a surprise. The sailor or soldier is government issue, a tool, nothing more. What he or she manages to take from that experience and reap from the education and benefits is icing on the cake as far as the government is concerned.
The bottom line is you have to approach service with a very realistic perspective. You may or may not get everything you want, usually you won't but then it was never promised.
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Oh, Air Force probably offers the best cross-training too, where if say you hate your job after 2 years(or whatever the time limit for that job) and you have 4 years left, you can change jobs and do something else. Not a lot of infantry in the Marines can say they can do that. 
