Pros
Pride in service and opportunity to contribute to the Nation. Opportunity to lead in difficult situations. Working with people who are committed to something beyond a salary. Fantastic young people! Being faced with complex problems and being expected to develop and execute a planned solution to any situation. The expectation of success breeds a bias for action and a desire to never fail. That is empowering and exciting.
Cons
Time away from home & family. Over time, the compensation becomes less competitive. Continual moves make building equity in anything almost impossible and creates conditions where you too often live paycheck to paycheck. As the ladder for advancement progresses, personalities begin to play a greater role. Working at the crossover point where you are required to work for political appointees with little or no experience but a decided sense of entitlement and in many cases an attitude born of unearned arrogance is frustrating. Not all are that way, but some are. But I expect that such conditions exist in almost any environment at the senior level. There is little or no time to commit yourself to anything but the Corps if you expect to be successful at the senior level. That is okay, but you must understand that fact when you decide to stay...it is a calling.