If I'm not mistaken, postings in the big national military bands such as the
Air Force Band or the
President's Own are regarded as pretty good gigs and are nothing to sneeze at. They're also hellaciously difficult to get into--there's a lot of competition, and check out that Marine Band web page. Notice where it says 60% of the personnel stay for 20+ years; what does that tell you about the possibilities that they'll have an opening for the appropriate instrument at a given point in time?
If you're talking about one of the smaller local bands, that's an entirely different animal. You can bet they aren't pampered nearly as much.
The bottom line is what you said.
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Originally Posted by Ibram
I know how hard it is to make it as a musician
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And it's no less hard if you're doing in the military instead of as a civilian. My advice, as a clarinet major turned music history major who dropped out of grad school and now works in IT for a living, is to get as good an education as you can (in both musical and non-musical areas) and count on supporting yourself at least partially with non-musical income, and go after whatever opportunities you can find. If a spot with the US Marine Band opens up at just the right time and you win the audition, more power to you. But don't count on it to the exclusion of making sensible career plans.
All of this ignores the whole pacifist issue. If you're really a pacifist, I'd suggest that you not voluntarily enlist in the military for any reason. No offense, but, duh.