Primary control job least likely to get slotted infantry

sheriff3

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Like some of the other posters here my DS has zero interest in being in the infantry. He understands the " needs of the Army..." and of course would do his very best. I wonder is there a job(s) one could choose that would reduce the chances of one being branched to an infantry unit? Just curious. Thanks.
 
Like some of the other posters here my DS has zero interest in being in the infantry. He understands the " needs of the Army..." and of course would do his very best. I wonder is there a job(s) one could choose that would reduce the chances of one being branched to an infantry unit? Just curious. Thanks.

Short answer, the branches that don't branch detail. What does he want to do? If he goes Ordnance, Quartermaster, or Transpo he won't be branch detailed. But every combat arms battalion has a Forward Support Company that is made up of logisticians and other support personnel so he could still end up in an Infantry unit, but life will be much different than being actually branched Infantry.

If he really wants to avoid anything remotely Infantry, I'd stay away from FA and Armor as well. Half of the LTs in FA (like myself) will find themselves attached to Infantry units as fire supporters. And Armor LTs have a chance of going to Infantry or Cavalry units.

Or if he's high enough on the OML, he can request things like MI, Signal, or AG (branches that detail out some LTs), but not volunteer to branch detail.
 
Bull, as always thanks for the great info. Interesting enough he just had to fill out a sheet ranking his branch preferences last week and put QM and transport as his #1 and #2 then MI and aviation to round out the top 4. He is still on the fence as to whether he is going to request AD or not.
 
Bull, as always thanks for the great info. Interesting enough he just had to fill out a sheet ranking his branch preferences last week and put QM and transport as his #1 and #2 then MI and aviation to round out the top 4. He is still on the fence as to whether he is going to request AD or not.

The Logistics branches teach good skills that are marketable to the civilian world and once you make captain all 3 merge into a single Logistics branch. If he likes logistics a lot, I would suggest him moving Ordnance up to where Aviation is, very small chance of branching AV unless it's your first choice.

If he goes Ordnance he can also try to get into EOD
 
Like some of the other posters here my DS has zero interest in being in the infantry. He understands the " needs of the Army..." and of course would do his very best. I wonder is there a job(s) one could choose that would reduce the chances of one being branched to an infantry unit? Just curious. Thanks.

Do you mean working/assigned to an infantry unit? Infantry is a branch, so no one will branched to an infantry unit. Bull assumed that your DS does not want to assigned to an infantry unit.

As for Branch detail, when I did it it was on volunteer basis for USMA whereas for ROTC it was the need of the Army. So very limited option as branches with no chance of involuntary branch detail into Infantry are Field Artillery, Engineers, and Aviation, Air Defense Artillery, Armor, Chemical

Army Regulation 640-10

f. Donor branches are Adjutant General, Finance, Military Police, Military Intelligence, Ordnance, Quartermaster, Signal, and Transportation. Recipient branches for the branch detail program are Air Defense Artillery, Armor, Chemical, Field Artillery and Infantry.

As Bull mentioned your DS becomes a Field Artillery officer, he could be assigned to an Infantry unit as a Fire Support Officer. An MI officer can be assigned to an Infantry unit as the unit Intelligence officer. A Signal office can be assigned to an Infantry unit as the unit Signal officer.

Unless we go back to the Cold War days, there will no front line so non Infantry units could be facing same threats (i.e. Jessica Lynch's unit during OIF) or Artillery and Armor soldiers trading their guns and tanks to perform Infantry missions.

If I may recommend, your DS's decision process should based on what he wants to do, not what he wants to avoid. Worst case scenario, he will spend some time in an Infantry unit. He learn a lot from the experience. For example, Military Intelligence can be divided into two types of assignments Echelon Above or Below Corps. If you are in a Echelon Above Corps type unit, MI soldiers are indoors, stateside, and/or secure base. Below is not everything that is not above. If you are a light infantry Battalion intelligence officer, you are rucking it with other Infantry soldiers. The MI branch expectation is to have a diversity of assignments, so the branch expect officers to to serve at both tactical and non-tactical units.
 
To add onto Member, jobs such as MI, Signal, etc. benefit by spending time in maneuver/combat arms units. When a MI Officer spends time with an Infantry unit and then moves onto a job on a staff outside the Infantry unit, they now have experience on what those combat elements need in terms of Intel (or communication for Signal, logistical needs for QM/TC/OD, etc.) and are able to make that happen at higher echelon staffs. That insight of what's needed in the foxholes pays dividends later in ones career.
 
Become a nurse....

Haha all jokes aside, if I didn't pass the NCLEX according to the OML I would have been branched FA.

There are many other branch options besides infantry but as everyone else said just because you aren't infantry doesn't mean you can't be assigned to an infantry unit. However, being in a infantry unit as an infantry officer is still a lot different than being assigned to a organic support company.
 
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