There are a lot of advantages to being an officer, but there are also special demands that enlisted folks don't have to deal with.
I think the best bet is to join the Air Force or the Navy. The Air Force seems like the kushiest (sp) branch and the least likely to lead to a small arms battle. The Navy has a wide range of jobs. The one I had was pretty damn sweet. I'd typically have all my scheduled work for the week done by Monday afternoon and be tortured by having to sit around the office and BS with my coworkers for the rest of the week. On deployment we had to keep recreational activities kind of on the down-low during the "workday" from 8-3, but even at that we'd still sometimes bust out the playstation or watch a movie right in the middle of the day. I know the aircraft on-board were taking off and doing real **** in Iraq, but other than being hotter, it was no different being on my ship in the Gulf than it was to be 12 miles off shore from San Diego.
There are some real crappy jobs in the Navy. Some of the people on the ship with me worked 12hours a day, and worked hard, any time the ship was underway. Then those same people often had to add a watch rotation to their 12 hour day, so part of the 12 hours they were "off" they might have to stand watch in addition to getting laundry done, pressing uniforms, taking a shower and sleeping. As the Navy saying goes, choose your rate, choose your fate.
If anyone wants a recommendation for a good Navy job try to become an FC (that's what I was), an ET (FCs and ETs start in the same program and split up after initial training), or an AT (an aviation electronics technician). Pretty decent work compared to a lot of other people I saw.
