Warrenlm: Nothing really negative intended by my remark. My experience has been that non-AFA guys often give Academy grads good-natured grief about going to the "Zoo" and for putting up with 4 years worth of cr*p in what's very close to being an all-boys school when one can earn a commission by going the ROTC route in a "normal" college or by going to OTS and getting a commission in only 90 days.

That being said, if that young man really wants to fly I'd definitely steer him to the USAF - not because I'm saying that the AFA is better than Annapolis as they both have outstanding reputations or that USAF aviation is necessisarily better than that of the Navy - but because the USAF has a reputation of treating their people MUCH better than the other services (and because he will have a 0% chance of ever spending even a single minute on a boat). Ask any servicemember which branch of the service treats their people best and I'm very confident they will tell you Air Force...