Which Army MOS's are the most/least competitive?

blackhawks26

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Just wondering, which MOS's tend to be the most/ least competitive for cadets coming out of Army ROTC?
 
Just wondering, which MOS's tend to be the most/ least competitive for cadets coming out of Army ROTC?

Officers have branches rather then MOSs.

The most competitive will be:

Aviation
Infantry
Military Intelligence
Armor
Engineering

The branches that don't fill as fast would be:

Transportation
Chem Corps
Quartermaster
Signal Corps

The other seven fall in the middle.
 
Officers have branches rather then MOSs.

The most competitive will be:

Aviation
Infantry
Military Intelligence
Armor
Engineering

The branches that don't fill as fast would be:

Transportation
Chem Corps
Quartermaster
Signal Corps

The other seven fall in the middle.

Whoops, my apologies for the incorrect terminology. Thank you though!
 
Officers have branches rather then MOSs.

The most competitive will be:

Aviation
Infantry
Military Intelligence
Armor
Engineering

The branches that don't fill as fast would be:

Transportation
Chem Corps
Quartermaster
Signal Corps

The other seven fall in the middle.

You would think Infantry would be one of the less competitive ones since you are more likely to engage in direct contact with the enemy.
 
You would think Infantry would be one of the less competitive ones since you are more likely to engage in direct contact with the enemy.

If your goal is to avoid angry people, the military may be a bad choice... :wink:
 
Officers have branches rather then MOSs.

The most competitive will be:

Aviation
Infantry
Military Intelligence
Armor
Engineering

The branches that don't fill as fast would be:

Transportation
Chem Corps
Quartermaster
Signal Corps

The other seven fall in the middle.

That's useful to me too, thanks. Naturally DS wants one of the more competitive, infantry. We've been assuming he should aim for Army, but he's been told to look into Navy-Marine Option as well.
 
Did I read somewhere that they merged Transportation, Ordnance, and Quartermaster into a "Logistics" Branch?
 
That's useful to me too, thanks. Naturally DS wants one of the more competitive, infantry. We've been assuming he should aim for Army, but he's been told to look into Navy-Marine Option as well.

He should look into Marines. And although ultimately they both end up on the ground they get there in different ways. Make sure he'd be happy as a Marine. 6 months at sea isn't necessarily easy, but then nothing is.
 
keep in mind medical complications that may prohibit unlimited Branch selections.

My second stayed away from all things water (navy and marines) due to color deficiency. He may have some limited opportunities in the army as well.
 
Did I read somewhere that they merged Transportation, Ordnance, and Quartermaster into a "Logistics" Branch?

It's only merged when you hit field grade or Major.
 
You would think Infantry would be one of the less competitive ones since you are more likely to engage in direct contact with the enemy.
well, that's the thing, isn't it? You just don't get a lot of pacifists/aversive-to-conflict 17-20 year olds wanting to be Army Officers.

By the way, the same holds for the Naval Academy. Marines (both ground and air) are harder to get in Service Appointment/Selection than Naval Aviator, Naval Flight Officer, Nuc Subs, Nuc Surface, and Surface. For some reason a good % of Military Academy, Naval Academy, NROTC, and AROTC future Officers (don't know about Air Force) want to get in and mix it up face to face with the enemy in protection of their country.

On the other hand, you will read quotes by many seasoned warriors of WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, and other modern conflicts who say that war, and direct armed conflict, are terrible, horrific, and to be avoided at all reasonable cost. But once unavoidable, are the first to rush forward, enter the breech, and risk life, limb, and mental health in defense of the values the majority of citizens of our country holds dear.

That is not to say that Operations Support Branches like Military Intelligence, Signal Corps, and Force Sustainment Branches like Transportation, Quartermaster, etc. are not just as critical... just different. Try winning a war without adequate supplies... that's what happened in WWII on the eastern front with Nazi Germany. Try winning a war without actionable Intelligence. There are books and documentaries describing the counter-Intelligence in play for the 1944 Allied landings at Normandy (Project Neptune), for example. Intelligence operations over the past twenty five years probably won't be made public for another twenty five years. Try communicating without adequate Signals. All 16 Branches are critical, or they wouldn't exist.
 
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It's only merged when you hit field grade or Major.

After the Captains Career Course, so 03.

For some reason a good % of Military Academy, Naval Academy, NROTC, and AROTC future Officers (don't know about Air Force) want to get in and mix it up face to face with the enemy in protection of their country.

Thank goodness for gullible teenagers lining up to fill all those spots for we who know better.
 
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After the Captains Career Course, so 03.

Yeah that's true but by then many are almost Majors as I have never met an O-3 with the log insignia (not saying they don't exist obviously). People go to CCC at varying times slot/command depending but you are right O-3 is the lowest rank for LOG.
 
He should look into Marines. And although ultimately they both end up on the ground they get there in different ways. Make sure he'd be happy as a Marine. 6 months at sea isn't necessarily easy, but then nothing is.

He says he wouldn't mind the time at sea, as long as he eventually ends up on the ground and he is not on a submarine. He's an avid sailor and SCUBA diver and a swimmer, so his disinterest in Navy is kind of surprising. How much harder is it (if it is harder -- it seems to me that the numbers alone would make the marines more competitive, but there are doubtless other factors), to commission as a Marine officer than Army infantry? If it matters, he plans to major in engineering management, and is looking at civilian ROTC schools as well as a couple of the SMCs.
 
He says he wouldn't mind the time at sea, as long as he eventually ends up on the ground and he is not on a submarine. He's an avid sailor and SCUBA diver and a swimmer, so his disinterest in Navy is kind of surprising. How much harder is it (if it is harder -- it seems to me that the numbers alone would make the marines more competitive, but there are doubtless other factors), to commission as a Marine officer than Army infantry? If it matters, he plans to major in engineering management, and is looking at civilian ROTC schools as well as a couple of the SMCs.

Clearly in terms of raw numbers it's easier to commission in the Army. But I also expect, based on absolutely no evidence, that far fewer people consider the Marines. So who knows? Only way to find out is to give it a shot.

I'm reluctant to say the Marine PFT is harder as I expect it will start a food fight, but your DS should compare the APFT to the Marine PFT and make his own determination. I would definitely say the Marines care more about the PFT for scholarship applicants, as they are the only service that administers the physical fitness test for the application themselves. It's an important factor. Especially upper body strength.

The Marines don't care what your major is, so majoring in engineering management will not be a factor for the scholarship.

One thing that may be worth keeping in mind... and I'm not implying one is better... each has it's place. With Army you can commission into the Reserves. Some people seek that out. With Marines you are definitely going AD if you commission.

Neither is an easy row to hoe. My son's unit experiences about 50% attrition between starting out at Freshman Orientation and commissioning. I don't know, but suspect that is about average for NROTC. People decide it's not for them, or they get stupid and do stupid things, or can't keep up physically or academically. I can't speak to the attrition numbers for AROTC.

Good luck to your DS! Hope some of this was helpful. :thumb:
 
Good luck to your DS! Hope some of this was helpful. :thumb:

Very helpful, and thank you! I just looked at both marine & army PFT standards. His cross-country 5K time is good, and the abdominal crunch standards aren't out of his range, so it looks like the only issue is going to be those pull-ups. Off to go install a chin-up bar...
 
DS wants Infantry because of what you all said about being on the front lines of serving and protecting his country. And also, he thinks it's critical to have combat experience if you want to be taken seriously in any military job, or in fact any job in which your "military experience" might count for something, like politics or criminal justice. Would love to hear your take on this, kinnem, aglahad, mbitr, and anyone else who wants to chime in.
 
DS wants Infantry because of what you all said about being on the front lines of serving and protecting his country. And also, he thinks it's critical to have combat experience if you want to be taken seriously in any military job, or in fact any job in which your "military experience" might count for something, like politics or criminal justice. Would love to hear your take on this, kinnem, aglahad, mbitr, and anyone else who wants to chime in.

After serving as an USMC Infantry Officer I wanted to throw some jab at all the other MOS' but honestly can't.

I hear your DS' sentiment again and again on this forum and from my children's friends. I can't fault the inexperience of high school students. They see movies, TV shows even news coverage highlighting the front line troops. But no one military occupational specialty has any higher importance than the other. You don't want to be in a front line unit that has outrun its supply chain. Or an artillery unit that isn't getting good intelligence. Or a forward air observer that can't communicate with the battalion CP.

An analogy: Football. The quarterback may get all the attention but he needs all the other players to execute if he is ever going to do his job. Teamwork.

Two other quick points: our recent endeavors haven't really seen "front lines" in the traditional sense. From convoys to attacks at base camps, nearly everyone is on the "front line." Regarding combat experience, who knows what can happen between now and the time your DS hits active duty. We may enter into a prolonged period of peace or peacekeeping.

What military experience will provide is discipline, responsibility, committment, leadership and a focus on accomplishing the mission. These are skills valued in any profession including politics and criminal justice.

I encourage him to read business books and other writings about a career after military service. Many officers make superb business leaders, politicians, lawyers, etc. Not all had combat experience.
 
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