The Marines' San Diego training station is the toughest in the nation: 688 recruits broke lower-leg — tibia and fibula — bones there from 2004 to 2010 (that translates into a rate of 28.9 fractures per 1,000 years of training).
Easiest Boot Camp / Basic Training
What is this? Though boot camp / basic training is considered challenging, yet mandatory, for every branch of the military, the easiest among them would most likely be the Air Force.
To recap: The hardest military branch to get into in terms of education requirements is the Air Force. The military branch with the toughest basic training is the Marine Corps. The hardest military branch for non-males because of exclusivity and male dominance is the Marine Corps.
The Army's basic training is only nine weeks long while the Marines boot camp is 12 weeks long. The main difference between the training is the Marines training is more rigorous and physically difficult, and also includes swimming training.
The Marines are often the first on the ground in combat situations, leading the charge when conflict arises. They also serve on Navy ships, protect Naval bases and guard U.S. embassies. Marines patrol during a simulated embassy reinforcement.
So the safest military branch in terms of man-to-man combat and machine-to-machine accidents is the Space Force.
Although the Marines are highly respected and considered one of the most elite fighting forces, the Navy SEALs training is far more rigorous and demanding than that of the Marines.
Yes, it is possible to fail basic training. You could go through the trouble of leaving your home, job, family and friends and come back a failure. In fact, this happens to about 15% of recruits who join the military every year. Too many recruits I speak to think that it is impossible to fail basic training.
So, when you factor in all these different types of pay and benefits, the most profitable military branch is… The air force! When you factor in all the different types of pay and benefits that each branch offers, the air force comes out on top.
The Short Answer: Two Years With a Catch
Two years is the shortest amount of time a new enlistee can sign up for active duty, however, there is a catch. You actually have an eight-year commitment but you can perform this commitment as an active duty member, a Reservist, or Individual Ready Reservist (IRR).
Until recently, Air Force basic training was only six weeks, the shortest basic training of any military branch However, the Air Force recently redesigned its basic training program, tacking on two extra weeks in the process.
U.S. Navy SEALs are an elite unit, more exclusive and harder to be admitted to than the U.S. Marines. The United States Marine Corps (also known as USMC or Marines) is one of the 5 branches of the U.S. military under the Department of Defense. It was created in 1775 as a special service.
At the basic training stage, the easiest military branch to join is the Air Force.
Return of the Raiders
Now, an elite branch of the U.S. Marine Corps will officially be known as Raiders. The Marines will rename several special operations units as Marine Raiders at a ceremony Friday, resurrecting a moniker made famous by World War II units that carried out risky amphibious and guerrilla operations.
SEAL Team 6, officially known as United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU), and Delta Force, officially known as 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (1st SFOD-D), are the most highly trained elite forces in the U.S. military.
For the first time, a female sailor has successfully completed the grueling 37-week training course to become a Naval Special Warfare combatant-craft crewman — the boat operators who transport Navy SEALs and conduct their own classified missions at sea.
Branches that promote the fastest
The U.S. Army is generally the branch of the military that promotes the fastest.
The Air Force has the reputation of having the best quality of life programs (dormitories, family housing, on-base shopping and services, and recreation) of all the military service branches.
The Marine Corps experienced the highest fatality rates per 100,000 for all causes (122.5), unintentional injury (77.1), suicide (14.0), and homicide (7.4) of all the services. The Army had the highest disease and illness-related fatality rate (20.2 per 100,000) of all the services.
When one examines the numbers by branch and component, those with the lowest average numbers of deployments were the Coast Guard and Marine Corps reserves (1.22 and 1.29, respectively) and those in the regular Coast Guard (1.28).
Noncombat military jobs that don't see combat typically include those in the information technology, health care, engineering, education, human resources or finance fields.
The Coast Guard is the least likely to see combat, as they are a part of Homeland Security and play a different role in protecting the United States. Every military branch has a different organizational structure. Within that structure, some units and troops focus on training for combat.