JN
I'm not the type to get involved in a p!55!ng competition, and of course all the youngsters out there in ppruneland are just as happy to take advice from you as they are from any other semi-anonymous cyber-agony-aunt(!) My concern, however, is that too many school-leavers are susceptible to being hoodwinked into doing what I did and signing away the best years of their lives in exchange for vague promises of a challenging and rewarding career on the front line.
I don't honestly think that I am an old fart, neither am I any more cynical than the next man, but (without disclosing too much of a sensitive nature) you must appreciate that the equipment in use in the forces today is by no means state-of-the-art, and the camaraderie of which you speak has been eroded to the point of extinction, and replaced by a kind of corporate weariness. This is not the same thing!
I don't know where you get your information, or what your interests are. For my part, I truly don't give a monkey's whether or not Rusty joins up; I just wouldn't want to see anybody doing so without having access to the full picture. In my considered opinion, fast-jet flying is worth taking the plunge, but believe me it ain't like Top Gun. On the other hand, if you want to fly cargo planes full of rubber dog 5h!t out of Hong Kong, or indeed those alarming little egg-whisk contraptions, then you might as well do it with a company that will respect you.