Honestly flying is more important to me. It may sound selfish, but if I couldn't fly I wouldn't want to join the military. How many people are actually there who genuinely want to serve? I would imagine there are many people in there who are there first to make money, have a job, benefits, whatever.
Lot's of people. As an example, for a commissioned army officer who wants to branch aviation, there are no guarantees they will earn a flight slot. West Point or ROTC cadets compete for these slots knowing full well the chances are minimal and that no matter what they will serve in the Army regardless.
On the other hand, I was talking to some Army Nat'l Guard recruiters who were telling me what I could do if it didn't work out. They were saying I could go into intelligence, go to school to learn Farsi, and have a good paycheck. To me that would be cool, I could rent a plane on the weekends or whenever. So I would find something I enjoy if I didn't get a flying slot. I wouldn't be miserable.
Or you could become and Infantry Officer, an Armor Officer, a Transportation Officer, or serve in a myriad of other specialties. As an exception to what I wrote above, a cadet who serves in the guard can get a guaranteed contract specifying their branch as long as the unit accepts them.
I thought by being in training, that assured you of a pilot slot. Flight training is expensive, and the gov't wouldn't want to pay for someones' training just to find out they had a medical problem or weren't good enough. Its possible to perform so badly in flight training that you won't get a pilot seat?
Yes, in the Army if you fail out of flight school you are re-branched needs of the Army. (This is rare as the selection process is so good hardly anyone fails out).
Yes- that is a con I am looking at. The planes in the military are the coolest aircraft in the world, and it would be an amazing opportunity to fly them. It just seems like the flying would be much less than a civilian pilot career. I talked with a family friend who was a marine aviator and told me he was lucky to get 20-30 hours a month flying fighters. I could almost fly that much on my own!
Flying
a lot is over rated IMO. I left the Army to fly full time as a civilian. I flew almost twice the amount of hours in a single year as I did in seven years of Army aviation. The flying lost its luster with so much repetition and I missed the leadership and management tasks I had while in the Army. There are so many opportunities outside of flying the military can offer. And you really don't know what is out there and what you may be interested in. As an example, here are 4 Army Officer careers that all started in active duty aviation doing the exact same thing - all commissioned aviation and were Chinook pilots.
1 - After flying the line for 7 years the Army sent him to grad school for engineering and is now at the Naval Experimental Test Pilot School.
2 - After flying the line for 7 years, she left AD and is now a full time logistician in a guard aviation unit and is a part time UH-60 pilot.
3 - After 7 years flying the line the Army sent him to grad school for statistics and he is now a statistician for the Army serving in their major plans division. (He's a dork and loves it).
4. After 7 years he got out to fly civilian cargo, then came back in through the guard. Currently a full time ROTC instructor and a part time guard pilot.
All four of these people initially thought all they wanted in life was to fly as much as possible and it turned out they developed other interests and specialties they love. For all but one who doesn't fly anymore, flying is a side job and is an added benefit.
