My DS is applying to USNA, USCG, USAFA and NROTC for the class of 2018. One thing to consider is how sequestration will affect the various services. He plans to stay in beyond the 5 yr requirement. Does anyone have any thoughts on this? I know USCG is the smallest of the services, but not sure how they are affected. I saw online that they are looking at getting some brand new planes from the Air Force that the Air Force will not be able to operate due to sequestration.
I'm sure tug-boat, LITS, and others will correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure USCG is part of Homeland and not DoD, so I don't think they are affected by the sequester in the same way DoD is.
It seems USNA is delaying shipbuilding and having fewer ships actively deployed at any one time, based on the reading I have done. Additionally, manpower is being cut in US Navy and USMC, so there is less of a need for new officers aside from the impact the economy has on increased retention.
USAF is deactivating squadrons and limiting training flight hours. They also seem to be going more and more towards drones, independent of the sequester.
I certainly wouldn't base any decision on the impacts of sequestration especially if your son is considering a long term career in the services. When I look around the world and see various trouble spots and pivots to other regions while the regions we are in are less than quiet, I suspect there is trouble ahead. If some trouble spot doesn't "blow up" in the next 8 years of the sequester I, for one, would be very surprised and consider us lucky. Whether any blow-up would be big enough to cause re-growth in the services would remain to be seen. Anyway, the point is that things could change direction on a dime.
All just my opinion. Who knows? Maybe I'm reading the wrong articles. As a suggestion, one place I go to online to try to keep up is
www.realcleardefense.com. Others would be the online "magazines" for each service, like Marine Corps Times, Stars and Stripes,
www.defense.gov etc.
