Besides the obvious he will not be on a boat, here are a couple of things.
This is the assumption he will be select for Summer Field Training as a rising jr., thus becomes a POC.
As a jr. he will apply for a rated board.
~ AFROTC selection right now is very high,(90%+) HOWEVER, when they apply they must be willing to accept 1 of any of the 4 options.
~~ Pilot
~~ CSO (aka navigator)
~~ RPA
~~ ABM
You don't have the option if selected to say no. IOTW you want pilot, and they select you for RPA, you can't say I'll try again for the next board, or let me go non-rated. You must take it.
If not selected as a sr. they will send you to a non-rated board.
Upon commissioning there usually is a 6-9+ month wait time for UPT class start date.
If he does not have a PPL, he will go to IFS (initial flight screening) in CO. He must graduate from there to move forward. If he does they will waive IFS and he would skip this step. Some students opt even with a PPL to attend because flying civilian is different than the military, and they feel it is better to get a handle on it prior to UPT regarding what AF pilot instructors are wanting from students.
At UPT he will stay there for his entire training period @1 yr. He will track out during the process...heavies or fighters.
Upon winging he will now owe 11 yrs.
He will than go to FTU, this training for his airframe. That can take another 6-9 months.
Somewhere in there they will also go TDY for things like water survival, SERE and/or arctic survival.
After FTU they will go to their operational squadron. They will than go through some more training tp become Mission Qualified. (MQ). Every airframe has a specific amount of time that this must incur within.
So from commissioning to being operational in their permanent squadron you are looking at @ 3 yrs, but that includes the wait time to start UPT.
Overseas tours vary from 2-3 yrs depending if he is single or married. single=2. Stateside tours are between 3 and 4 yrs.
AF used to train at Whiting with the Navy for UPT, but has now ended this program because compared to the AF UPT program the Navy was taking much longer to wing them. I believe DS said it was taking 2X as long to wing out of Whiting than any other base.
Our very close friend's DS is a USNA grad (12). He reported for UPT in July. He finished his 1st phase and is now in TX since Dec, waiting for his next phase. His Mom told me the other day, he basically plays Xbox with his roommates because they have yet to fly, and will most likely wing after our DS. DS is an AFROTC 12 grad. He is at IFS now, and his UPT date is April. AFA counterparts on the other hand will be the 1st to attend UPT, so they are now all about 6 months from winging, not 14 more months.
I am an AF spouse, and from a personal perspective. AF is more family oriented than the Navy. I am not saying that the Navy isn't, just that due to the fact there are no sea tours, that is not part of your life. It is common though in the AF fighter community to be deployed 2x for 4-6 months each time over a 3-4 yr tour. Basically it is go, come back for 18 months, and go again.
It is very rare for a fliers wife to give birth without her DH by her side. They typically will not send them for those deployments if she is due during that time.
Let's face it the other branches call the AF the corporate branch with banker's hours. If they are not flying their duty day is 8-4. PT to them is lifting a beer after playing a round of golf!
Some other things. Pilots in the AF currently are offered 2 bonuses. 1st is at the 7 yr marker, and they must stay until 14. The second is at the 15 marker, and I believe they have to stay until 22.
If he wants helo's the AF has them, but very few, so he is better off going Navy.
Hope that helps. I am sure the Navy posters will give you their perspectives of the path within the Navy.