Tremendous immediate responsibility for brand new officer, defined career path and potential
Pros
Immediately after college, a tremendous amount of responsibility was placed on me. I rose to the challenge. It was a challenge, make no doubt. There is a generous leave/vacation policy. But actually getting to take that time off is another story... The path to promotions is pretty straight forward for the beginning of a career. Pay increases are guaranteed. The ability to travel the world is great if you want it.
Cons
The lack of control over where you get to live/raise your family is frustrating. There are bases that are more desirable than others obviously. But if more control were given to personnel, perhaps people would be happier. This coming from somebody who was at a less desirable base and morale was low amongst junior level officers unless you were a pilot b/c that was *the* base to be for those officers. My specific career in the Air Force didn't translate into civilian world, but the lessons I learned about management, logistical and strategic planning are priceless.
