Pros
I worked with a lot of good people for the most part. It was my first job out of college and I had some growing up to do. My commanders and senior NCOs were very helpful with that. I also had access to a ton of free professional development and training opportunities that I was too young and inexperienced to fully appreciate. Those opportunities are few and far between outside the military. Out here, you have to make your own opportunities.
Cons
There was a lot of inflexibility for family issues depending on who your commander was. My culture requires that I be there for my grandparents and my leadership was not flexible if I needed time to visit relatives in the hospital. They are great for immediate family usually (though not always). I also had trouble getting time off after deployments to the desert to pick up my kids from relatives. Even though that time is promised, your commander can hold it back.
