An Army in transition awaits West Point cadets...

As my own son is carefully weighing his options to attend a SA and serve in either the Army or Coast Guard.... I ran across this article from the Washington Post back in late November. Ernesto Londono covers the Pentagon and this is one of many of his submissions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world...1fabf4-53c2-11e3-9e2c-e1d01116fd98_story.html

FWIW, the cycle of military action, buildups and budget was a major talking point during my son's WP interview. The retired Colonel made a convincing case for the merits of being a cadet and/or junior officer during the lean times.

Curious what others that have gone through these military expansions and cutbacks think?

Anybody willing to weigh in on whether or not this is a particularly good or a potentially bad time to be choosing an Army career?

USCGA_2018 said:

Anybody willing to weigh in on whether or not this is a particularly good or a potentially bad time to be choosing an Army career?

Click to expand...

It's something to consider, but if his decision is between the Army or Coast Guard, I don't think he's going to find the lottery in the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has a major portion of its missions in the "peace or wartime" domain, so that's a good thing. The Coast Guard also has a tiny budget compared to any of the other services, and is experiencing some real issues with an aging fleet and a wanting budget.

But the missions of the Army and Coast Guard are what should be front and center in his decision, and the two are VERY different.

It's good to be aware of all the issues the military is faced with, but selecting a service should be centered on "mission."

Unless you have a crystal ball between your shoulders, the reality is that nobody knows what the future, even the next couple of years will look like. In January 2001, which talking heads were forecasting that the Army would be in a 12 year ground war in 2 different countries? The future will be what it will be. If you want to be a Soldier, then don't worry about gaming the unknowable.