Aviation
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Just_A_Mom
10-Year Member
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It varies from year to year. There are about 100 or so and aviation is usually one of the three most popular branches - behind Infantry and Armor, but there are 16 branches so the numbers are spread out.
The Army currently has a program called ADSO - this allows a cadet (USMA or ROTC) the opportunity to "buy" their branch. By agreeing to extend your active duty service obligation by three years you can bump into the branch of your choice. Normally the picking is done by class rank, those of the highest rank picking first.
The Army does have summer opportunites for Aviation. Some cadets get to go to flight training at the University of North Dakota and some have gone down to Paxtuxent Naval Air Station.
If you are interested in majoring in mechanical engineering (aeronautical engineering is offered through mech eng) here is a link to the AIAD's that were available to cadets in the summer of 2008:
http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/cme/Mechanical/mechanicalAIAD2008.htm
The Army currently has a program called ADSO - this allows a cadet (USMA or ROTC) the opportunity to "buy" their branch. By agreeing to extend your active duty service obligation by three years you can bump into the branch of your choice. Normally the picking is done by class rank, those of the highest rank picking first.
The Army does have summer opportunites for Aviation. Some cadets get to go to flight training at the University of North Dakota and some have gone down to Paxtuxent Naval Air Station.
If you are interested in majoring in mechanical engineering (aeronautical engineering is offered through mech eng) here is a link to the AIAD's that were available to cadets in the summer of 2008:
http://www.dean.usma.edu/departments/cme/Mechanical/mechanicalAIAD2008.htm
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is it hard to get infantry?
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Not from what I've heard from my Army friend. He branched MI, and is now with infantry for a few years.
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Depending on your class rank it can be hard. If you are in the bottom half of the class you will most likely have to ADSO to get Infantry. It is also possible (as mentioned by LITS aobve) to branch something else and get branch detailed into the Infantry for a period of time after which you will return to your basic branch.
There have been a fair number of people for the past several years who put Infantry as their first choice, but did not receive it -- another reason that class rank is so important.
There have been a fair number of people for the past several years who put Infantry as their first choice, but did not receive it -- another reason that class rank is so important.
This year the class of 2009 had about 1000 cadets make it to their final year. The class was presented with 200 slots for infantry and 85 for aviation. For the similarly-sized 2008 class the numbers were 217 and 102 respectively.
25% of the allocated slots in each branch are available to cadets willing to commit 3 years of additional active duty service obligation (ADSO). Those 3 years are in addition to the mandatory 5 years. Lower ranked cadets can 'bump' higher ranked cadets for those spots if the higher ranked cadet does not commit to additional service years.
That said, you are pretty much assured of getting your first choice of branch without ADSO if you are in the top half of your class.
25% of the allocated slots in each branch are available to cadets willing to commit 3 years of additional active duty service obligation (ADSO). Those 3 years are in addition to the mandatory 5 years. Lower ranked cadets can 'bump' higher ranked cadets for those spots if the higher ranked cadet does not commit to additional service years.
That said, you are pretty much assured of getting your first choice of branch without ADSO if you are in the top half of your class.