To echo what everybody else has said, the most important phrase regarding Service Community selection/assignment is "The needs of the Navy". And you can't game it, period.
I somewhat disagree with this. There are certainly ways of increasing your odds, not the least of which is doing well. But, besides achieving a high order-of-merit, there are certain do's and don't's that, if you're not aware of them, you can fall victim to being "voluntold" when you otherwise would not have.
Let me give you a very small example, something I know a lot about because it just happened with the class of '13.
In recent history, the Naval Academy has only been permitting 10 midshipmen into the Medical Corps. There is a directive that allows them to take more - but the Navy has opted to get the bulk of their doctors from other commissioning sources - not USNA.
As in previous years, this past year, they selected only 10. They designated one midshipman as an alternate. The alternate was forced into his second choice because he was not one of the 10. The alternate will not be allowed to go into the Medical Corps unless two things happen: 1) One of the primary ten drop out for some reason
and 2) he gets accepted into a medical school.
Getting accepted into medical school is a time consuming and expensive ordeal. You have to fly all around the country and be interviewed with no guarantee of being accepted. You have to fill out applications and write essays. And, even if he does get accepted, the Navy is not going to permit him to attend medical school because he was not one of the 10. It's a waste of time and money. Usually, the alternate gives up and moves on with his life.
This kid did not!
Although he was very bright and would've been a perfect choice for submarines, he chose SWO. Did he really want SWO over subs? No!
Prior to being told he was not one of the 10 selected for MedCorps, his top three preferences, in order, were 1) MedCorps 2) Subs 3) SWO. Once he found out that he was a MedCorps
alternate, he quickly changed his preferences to 1) MedCorps 2) SWO 3) Subs.
He did complete all the medical school essays and paid their application fees. He missed classes to attend interviews. Ultimately, he was accepted into George Washington University Medical School. But, unfortunately, none of the other 10 dropped out - all of whom got accepted into medical schools themselves.
It looks like SWO for this kid - right?
Wrong!
He called the Navy's bluff. He put the Navy in the awkward position of getting accepted into medical school when they thought he was not prime medical school material. Well, apparently, George Washington University disagreed.
I guarantee you, had this kid selected submarines - he would've been screwed. They would have
never allowed him to back out of that service selection. He knew that the Navy would be much more agreeable in allowing him to drop his SWO selection.
And they did!
The Navy made an exception to their own, self-imposed rule and allowed
ELEVEN to go into the Medical Corps.
There was a little gamesmanship in that process, wouldn't you agree?
It made a
huge difference in this deserving midshipman's life.