Which service should my 18 year old daughter join?

<p>Tell her to consider (particularly since she has been a Sea Cadet)&nbsp;talking with a Coast Guard recruiter depending on what she wants to do. It is a little known fact that the USCG was the first military service to allow women into all job specialties (more than 30 years ago). I realize we have no traditional combat arms rate/MOS but off shore drug or migrant interdiction or the surf community are as challenging as anything done any where.</p><p><br></p><p>With her grades, the USCG Academy might be an option if she wants to go to the dark side.</p><p><br></p><p>The Coast Guard also gives (or rather requires) junior people more responsibilities earlier in their careers. We&nbsp;have no reservations about giving a 20 year E4 a half million dollar motor lifeboat and sending them and their crew into a gale in the middle of the night for search &amp; rescue; or asking 24 year H60 pilots to fly into a hurricane. these things tend to make them grow up quickly, and get really good at what they do in hurry!</p><p><br></p><p>Also advancements depending on her rate/MOS may be significantly faster than other services simply because Coast Guard members compete for promotion against everybody in their rate/MOS at their pay grade service wide; not just people at their unit. The consequence is that&nbsp;there are no&nbsp;local quotas for promotion.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>I know it sounds bias, but I grew up in a military family. Dad (God rest him) was Army; two uncles in the Air Force, and one in the Navy; and my step son just finished four years in the Marine Corps. I've seen them all, and they all have their advantages. It may just depend on what she wants to do.</p><p><br></p><p>Best of luck to her!!</p>

I was an Army recruiter for a few years and this seems to be a difficult decision for applicants that have a parent in the service or some sort of attachment to a branch. My two cents of advice to your daughter is the following.
1. Do your research what branch guarantees the career opportunities that you are seeking?
2. Is this only to give you a step in stone for something else i.e. money for college or are you interested in making it a career.
3. What do you know about each branch and their role on the big picture? What do you think your function will be or what do you want it to be?
4. Bottom line who will give you the best deal for your service.
5. Have you take a moment by yourself and picture yourself in any other branches? Do you have an inclination to any particular branch and why?
6. How is your personality? Are you very technical? Outdoorsy and rugged? All of the branches have a different style and certain personalities fit better in a specific branch.
7. Have you research the promotion systems? They are different some branches require test taking other are strictly performance. This will make a huge difference when it’s time to advance I personally always hated test and school environments so Air force and Navy were out of the question solely based on their promotion system.
8. What branch provides the most avenues for career change within their branch? Like in the army you can begin enlisted change jobs attend OCS or Warrant officer training a lot easier than other branches because of how large we are we have more vacancies.
I wish you luck and remember it’s your life and career you need to make a decision that you and only you can live with gather as much information as you can possibly can and follow your dreams.

Possible Academy Candidate? What interests her other than just military -- command, combat, weapons systems, flight school, accounting, personnel, supply, math, science, engineering?

She has an outstanding GPA. A few years ago a Navy CPO or a Senator would recommend a few deserving military kids to the service academy.

Has she considered officer education? This gets her a well respected degree and commissioning as an officer.