Best and worst first duty assignments?

iceman2018

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I understand that the graduating class of the different SAs already know their first duty assignments/billets. It is also common practice to put in one's top three choices. What determines who gets what they want versus the ones who get the opposite? Can current 1st class cadets of the class of 2013, active or retired servicemen/women share what are the most sought after assignments and the least requested. Thanks.
 
Yes sir. The five Service Academies.
USMA,USMMA,USAFA,USNA,USCGA
or the different branches-active duty.
 
From what I hear, Fort Drum is pretty looked down on in the Army. Cold.....
 
From what I hear, Fort Drum is pretty looked down on in the Army. Cold.....

On the plus side it often gets so cold that it's a dry cold. There is no moisture in the air because it's all frozen. ALso on the plus side its the home of the 10th Mt. How cool is that?
 
Yes sir. The five Service Academies.
USMA,USMMA,USAFA,USNA,USCGA
or the different branches-active duty.

Narrow that down.


For the Coast Guard there are often 3 considerations I think cadets have when they look at their first assignment.

  1. What community do I want to be in?
Do you want to be afloat, ashore or in aviation. That will affect if you put in for ships, sectors or flight school.

  • What kind of platform do I want to be on?

This question, at least first tour, is more relevant to the afloat community. Do you want to be on a white hull, black hull or red hull? Later for ashore it will matter and once officers graduate from flight school, helo or fixed wing, etc. For me, I put in for white hulls. After I figured that out, I got to question 3.

  • Where do I want to be?

Do I want a white hull in Charleston, S.C. or Cape May, NJ?

Now when you put in your dream sheet for your first unit, you can give the assignment officer a pretty good idea what you want. If I put in for all cutters, he'll know I want to go afloat. If I put in for cutters on the east coast, he'll know I'm looking east. If my entire dream sheet is 210's, where ever they are, he'll pick up on that. It can backfire if you don't give him enough options though. I put in for two unrelated units and then leave it open...


I'm not going to dive into if people want Florida over Maine or Hawaii over Alaska. Each person hopes for a unit, mission or location. Some may prefer Detroit over Miami. But you get the general idea.
 
Yes sir. The five Service Academies.
USMA,USMMA,USAFA,USNA,USCGA
or the different branches-active duty.
That's kind of like asking where is the best place to live, if you narrow it down to earth...

My advice:
Decide what you want to do. Then, look at where those positions are. Request the one you think is best. Not every career field is at every base. You won't be a research scientist posted at Laughlin AFB, and you won't see many fighter pilots at Scott AFB.
 
You need to narrow it down to a particular service, there are hundreds of possible locations.
 
There's only 2 great duty assignments:

1. The one you LEFT

2. And the one you're going to.

It's NEVER the one you are at.

Although, I have to say that 4 years at CNA (Camp New Amsterdam); AKA Soesterberg Air Base; "Soesterberg Holland" (Netherlands); was one assignment I don't ever remember complaining about while I was there.
 
That's kind of like asking where is the best place to live, if you narrow it down to earth...

My advice:
Decide what you want to do. Then, look at where those positions are. Request the one you think is best. Not every career field is at every base. You won't be a research scientist posted at Laughlin AFB, and you won't see many fighter pilots at Scott AFB.

It's not just for me. It really doesn't matter what branch. If your goal is to serve.
I'm trying to allow every willing servicemen/women to share their opinion -if they may, irrespective of their affiliation.
This in turn should let an appointee have a peek into the military world through their experience and subjective views.
 
It's not just for me. It really doesn't matter what branch. If your goal is to serve.
I'm trying to allow every willing servicemen/women to share their opinion -if they may, irrespective of their affiliation.
This in turn should let an appointee have a peek into the military world through their experience and subjective views.

I don't really think your going to get much help on this one without a specific question.

There are 5 branches of the military, all have numerous bases or stations, too many to mention in such a broad subject. On top of that it will depend on what you do within each service. What may not be a good place to live may be a great opportunity for what work you do. In otherwords it depend on the individual, what you do within your branch and what you find interesting as far as where you live. While you may love where you are stationed, others may hate it and vise versa.
 
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It's not just for me. It really doesn't matter what branch. If your goal is to serve.
I'm trying to allow every willing servicemen/women to share their opinion -if they may, irrespective of their affiliation.
This in turn should let an appointee have a peek into the military world through their experience and subjective views.

Narrow it down.
 
iceman,

You aren't going to get definitive answers to a subjective question. It all depends on the person, situation, etc. I know an AF pilot who dreams of getting sent back to Alaska. If I were in Alaska I would be counting down the days until I could get out of there. The best/worst depends on who you are.
 
As a Marine here are my favorites:

Overseas: (all in (Okinawa or) Japan)
Camp Hanson
Camp Schwab
Camp Zukeran (Foster)
Camp Fuji

CONUS:
Kaneohe Bay
MCRD Parris Island
MCB Quantico
Camp Elmore
The Presidio of Monterey
Corry Station
MB Jacksonville

This is more like it.:thumb: Wonder why others have to make it so complicated?
 
This is more like it.:thumb: Wonder why others have to make it so complicated?

Keep burning those bridges Iceman. You ask an overgeneralized question, the people with the answers say to get more focused.... and you pop off a smart #$% comment.


Oh, you're going to do just great at an academy with that attitude. :thumb:
 
Really curious what others think not just a specific branch.
Don't know why you see it that way?
 
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