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GoArmy92

5-Year Member
Joined
Sep 10, 2014
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Hello everyone!


I am a currently an ROTC cadet and am figuring out what branch is suitable for me. As a Government and International Politics major I thought it is best to purse a branch in the Army closely related to the careers I can have (with my major) upon graduating from college only because I can further enhance my skills rather than doing something completely opposite and forgetting all that I learned in college. I am having some trouble trying to figure out what branch to choose because I also want a career in the army where I am actually doing "stuff" deploying around the world rather than sitting down and pushing papers. I appreciate the advice.



Some of my choices include

Civil Affairs
Military Intelligence
JAG
Armor (possible)
 
You can't branch CA directly from ROTC. You'll have to wait until the Army calls for officers from your year group. You'll need your JD to branch JAG. MI is a VERY hard branch to assess.
 
You can't branch civil affairs as a LT out of ROTC, it only becomes an option when you become a captain.
Likewise to do JAG you will have to do a education delay and go to law school first.
I was a poli sic major and honestly nothing you branch will use what you're studying except the writing skills.
And no matter what you branch as an officer you will end up with a job "pushing papers" at some point, we call it being on staff.
However branching either armor, infantry (or possibly Aviation/field artillery) will most likely get you the most field time and least amount of paperwork if that's what you looking for.
 
This is a very interesting thread and would like to read more input on it. Son is HS senior still hoping for 4 yr AROTC. His intended majors history/government and if he reaches commission branch civil affairs, MI, or JAG down the line (post law school). Several cadets in cadre he spoke with had similar goals. But here you are advising CA not option until end of first tour or 2nd, MI very hard to get into. Understanding you go where the Army wants you what do similar cadets put down for top three choices? Infanty, Armor, Chemical? Just curious what are suggestions for cadets hoping to one day to branch to CA or MI? What are some of suggested paths to reach those destinations?
 
MI isn't too hard to get if you've got a good GPA, PT scores, etc. - at least with the "old" OML model. There isn't a huge need for 2LTs in MI, so many cadets "branch detail". They serve in an operations branch (Armor, Infantry, FA, etc) until they're captains, then transition to MI. What is less common is to branch straight MI out of ROTC, but it's not all that rare. Everyone in son's battalion who wanted MI this year got it.
 
There is no "path" to CA beyond serving well in your basic branch and then assessing for civil affairs when you become eligible.
 
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