USNA or USMA - Sell me on why I should go Navy

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armynavyfan38

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Jan 2, 2023
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I am considering USNA or USMA. I honestly do not know where I should go. Can y’all give me some insight on why navy > army? Not sure if I want to be on a ship or away from family for long periods of time. I love the naval academy but I want to focus on service.
 
I am considering both USNA and Army but I don’t know which service I like better. I need some insight on why y’all think army > navy. I posted this on the navy forum but i’d like the army argument on why I should serve in the army. I want to serve but I’m not sure which is a better fit. Any forums on which will help me make a decision would be great too. Thanks.
 
Sorry, @armynavyfan38, but it’s not our job to “sell“ you on Navy (or Army, since you posted this same question in the USMA forum). If anything, it’s your job to sell yourself to Navy or Army. If you don’t know which way to go, you need to significantly ramp up your research. Go to the USNA/Navy/Marines websites or the USMA/Army websites and review every page, tab, link and pulldown. Ask yourself whose mission and culture best fit you personally. Ask yourself which one offers the roles you can see yourself in. And ask yourself, if you don’t get your preferred role, which one offers the alternative roles you can live with. Many here will post why one branch is better than the other. But the answer you seek is within yourself. Get busy! Because if we have to “sell” you, something isn't right.
 
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MidCakePa said:
Sorry, @armynavyfan38, but it’s not our job to “sell“ you on Navy (or Army, since you posted this same question in the USMA forum). If anything, it’s your job to sell yourself to Navy or Army. If you don’t know which way to go, you need to lean into your research. Go to the USNA/Navy/Marines websites or the USMA/Army websites and review every page, tab, link and pulldown. Ask yourself whose mission and culture best fit you personally. Ask yourself which one offers the roles you can see yourself in. And ask yourself, if you don’t get your preference, which one offers the roles you can live with. Many here will post why one branch is better than the other. But the answer you seek is within yourself. Get busy!
Click to expand...
Bingo.
 
Sorry, @armynavyfan38, but it’s not our job to “sell“ you on Army (or Navy, since you posted this same question in the USNA forum). If anything, it’s your job to sell yourself to Navy or Army. If you don’t know which way to go, you need to significantly ramp up your research. Go to the USNA/Navy/Marines websites or the USMA/Army websites and review every page, tab, link and pulldown. Ask yourself whose mission and culture best fit you personally. Ask yourself which one offers the roles you can see yourself in. And ask yourself, if you don’t get your preferred role, which one offers the alternative roles you can live with. Many here will post why one branch is better than the other. But the answer you seek is within yourself. Get busy! Because if we have to “sell” you, something isn't right.
 
No one can assess your internal drivers. What makes you tick. What you enjoy, or don’t like at all. What you want to do. What culture fits best.

And all of those things are what you need to discover for yourself. My suggestion, would be to follow @MidCakePa advice. Also, get out there and talk to enlisted/officer in both branches. And include Marines in that info gathering.

I’m a big fan of talking with ROTC units at schools. Most units host admissions briefings. Those are a great source of info.

You can also search 🔍 around the forums, using the search function, for tons of discussion. But each persons opinion is their own. They may or may not mesh with your own personal internal drivers.

Appreciate your willingness to serve!!
 
I agree with @MidCakePa! It is no one's job on this forum to sell you on one service over the other. I you don't have a sense of your own answer to this question already, then I wonder why you even applied to the academies in the first place. I think you should do some serious reflection on your desired career path and why (or if) you want to serve.
 
I merged your threads. Same messages given in both.

Stealth_81
 
One thought ... First, think about what service atmosphere and culture fits you-- they are two different organizations. (There are many threads on on SAF addressing this issue). Second, keep in mind that you can do almost anything coming out of USNA than you can do out of USMA , but not vice versa -- USMC probably has most of the same MOS's that Army does., and you add in Surface, Subs, Air (real Air !) and other options. Deployment is a fact of life no matter what the branch of service is.

Only you can decide what branch you want to serve in ...in my opinion its an easy choice. Go Navy and use USMA as your safety school. :)
 
My DS has appointments to both, and I thought hard about asking a similar question in this forum - although maybe a different way :). He did the summer programs at both and did CVW in the Fall at Navy and will go to the overnight at West Point in April. I want him to make the right decision for him - but that is ultimately his decision. He turns 18 pretty soon and this will be one of his first and most consequential decisions he will have to make for himself. He will have to live with it, and I really don't want to have the conversation at 25 about whether I pressured him one way or the other. (even to go - I have been super excited about some of the civilian schools he has received admission for because I don't want him to think his only options are the free education).

Not coming from the military myself - I don't have a dog in the hunt. He seems to be leaning more towards Navy because having "more" options coming out. However, Army has more fields of Study, and he is more verbally oriented than math/science oriented. I wish someone could just give him straight scoop and say -"hey, this one is better for you because of these reasons" but I can't seem to find that. Which suggests that they are pretty close. But if you want to try - give it a rip.
 
texdad2023 said:
I wish someone could just give him straight scoop and say -"hey, this one is better for you because of these reasons" but I can't seem to find that
Click to expand...
Nobody can make that decision but the candidate themself. There are many threads on SAF over the years. Each service has its own culture, vibe, whatever you want to call it. Anyone who has served can provide a pretty good description of their own service, and some who have served in joint commands can describe other services. Reach out and talk to veterans, they can help you find the right service.
 
There is SO much more to both services than time away from family. It starts with what you want to do with your life -- do you want to be in a ground-based service or a sea-based service? Yes, most naval officers deploy. However, if you're not married, you're not leaving a spouse or kids and you are going to some really interesting places doing really interesting work. Most USN/USMC officers look back on their deployments as some of the best times of their service, family separation notwithstanding.

Army (and USAF) may not deploy as much, but they have "dog" duty stations where you spend years in the middle of nowhere.

Neither service is "better." One is probably better for you, but only you will know which one. I think I always tell my candidates -- I'm not here to convince you to attend USNA. I'm not going to be there on the really tough days. You have to want it.
 
….and sometimes? You have to take a
Leap of faith. Go with your gut. Listen to your instincts.

Especially as a newly anointined young adult, without the benefit of the next 10 yrs in the rear view mirror, you may not even know what you really want. I think that’s pretty normal of a 17/18 yr old.

It may boil down to a leap of faith. Jumping in with two feet and never looking back.
 
My DS has three appointments and he is currently trying to decide. We sat down with a whiteboard and I started asking questions. Where do you see yourself in 10, 20, 30, + years? Difficult for a 17-year-old. I reminded him of things he always talked about.
Then we made a pro/con list for each school and he was able to eliminate one choice easily.

He is doing his soul searching as we speak and has set this Friday as a self-imposed deadline. He told me if the smaller academy has one path that he just can't live without, that's what he'll do, otherwise, he'll go to the larger academy that has many more options.

Really, there are two ways to play this. You can figure out what you want in life and reverse engineer it to get to the starting line, OR, pick a path and deal with things as they come. I will not make his decision for him but will ask probing questions. At the end of the day, it is his decision.

There are no bad choices AND you'll never know what the correct choice was, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, never play the "what if" game. It isn't winnable.

Adulting is hard.
 
Current '27 candidate here -

Truth be told, I never had a soul directly tell me which Academy I should choose over another during my application phase, and for that, I am extremely grateful. There is the gut feeling of "I don't think I will be a good XX officer". Or maybe you realize the only reason you want to go to USAFA is that you want to fly an F-22. Then out of nowhere the Navy and its love of water seem like a great place for you no matter what your service selection ends up being. After talking to current service members, cadets/ mids, and retired officers, I was able to create a ranking of where I thought I would most rather go and would prefer to serve. It was a well-thought-through decision that sits contingent on the outcomes of my applications. Who knows, maybe I'll discover something new and change my plans yet.

My personal take-it-with-some-salt advice - no one can give you the answer, nor should they make the choice for you; dig through the internet and read about every option, listen to a few podcasts, read biographies, and have conversations. Patience and a bit of thought helps to sort it all out.
 
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