Which service for a family?

[julez]

Hi all. I know this is probably considered a loaded question, but I've been looking at the individual websites for the info I want and really don't see my answers. It seems most answers would need to come from a recruiter or from someone else on the inside.
So here goes....I have two nephews that are going to join the service. They want to go Army because that's what my brother (one nephews dad) just retired from, but they really are young and just want to jump in without doing the research on which would really benefit their situations. So I'm trying to do a little of it for them. The field is already pretty much narrowed down to Army or Air Force.

In my digging, it seems that the Army does have better starting pay, but I couldn't find what the allowances would be for a family to get the real numbers.

It looks like Air Force bases are much nicer than Army's. Is this true?

Some other facts to help someone help me....
They each have families already (both have kids under 2) which is the reason they're joining...to better their families lives.
They really want to go to Germany.
It seems the Army standardly deploys to Iraq or Afghanistan for 12 months. Is this almost a given?
They want educational benefits for themselves and their families.
They want to live on-base to save money. (so which has better family housing and better bases in general?)
They both dread boot camp. (so which is less traumatic?)
They would like to stay together if possible, but know it's not probable.
They are both concerned that they would fail the test for the AF. They've heard it's very hard (neither of them are dumb)

Any help on any of these particular points would be GREATLY appreciated.

worried Aunt

[hughissuper]

As far as boot camp, AF is about 6 weeks. Army is 9 weeks.
As for the ASVAB, the test they have to take, that's required for every branch of service. It determines which branch of service and the job. The ASVAB is basic algebra and English. If your nephews did decently in highschool there's no reason why they shouldn't do well on the test. There are practice books available.
As far as benefits, each branch of service offers basically the same thing. The GI Bill is available to everyone in the military, the amount available is determined by the branch of service. Health insurance and pay is pretty much the same starting out.
What they might want to consider are the more mundane benefits. Air Force bases are much nicer to live on than Army bases.
More specific information is available on the internet. You should google for the specific answers to all your questions and check several different sources. People on a forum are going to give their own opinions, which may not be reliable or informed. You're not going to get the full picture on here. Google what you want to know.