New Branching System

Not sure where to post this.

https://www.army.mil/article/227124/assigning_branches_to_cadets_takes_on_new_system

Would love to hear from @clarksonarmy .

Here...

This decision seems like it will cause quite a stir in the near future. Pretty much those with experience are the best resource here.

Walman888 said:

This decision seems like it will cause quite a stir in the near future. Pretty much those with experience are the best resource here.

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There is nothing in the recent past for anyone to reference. I think even those with experience will be making educated guesses.

UHBlackhawk said:

Walman888 said:

This decision seems like it will cause quite a stir in the near future. Pretty much those with experience are the best resource here.

Click to expand...

There is nothing in the recent past for anyone to reference. I think even those with experience will be making educated guesses.

Click to expand...

Shows how new I am to this. Didn't realize this was entirely new and unique. Still wondering about the whole BRADSO scenario for those who might go that route. The "Bucket" analogy from the article and another group seemed a good explanation. Tough to believe all the details have been made clear.

Going from memory so numbers aren’t exact. USMA experimented with the 2019 branch assignments and the analysis showed if they had branched under the new system something like 5 cadets wouldn’t have gotten their 1st choice but all but 15 got their top 3 or something to that effect. Bottom line was it had only a small impact. Keep in mind that if the cadet has a branch 1 and gets their branch 2 it’s mostly because branch 2 wanted them more than branch 1 so for the small number impacted it’s pretty much a win/win. Only time will tell and no one likes change.

There is a duplicate thread for this discussion:

https://www.serviceacademyforums.com/index.php?threads/new-branching-system.69568/#post-687129

I posted how “talent-based branching” was done last year at USMA. Seems they’ve formalized it, renamed it, and consider it ready for prime time now.

Moderators: Maybe these two threads could be merged.

I know BRADSO has been around a while at West Point. Being ROTC I was not familiar with it. Heck, I’m still not sure how I got aviation. All I can figure is they really thought the Soviets were going to come through the Fulda Gap and they needed a bunch of stupid LTs as fodder. When my DW went through flight school four years later classes were 1/3 the size mine was.

Fulda Gap. Your roots are showing @UHBlackhawk . Some of the branches have been doing interviews and other qualifying activities for years (Cyber, for example).
It seems like this will be cumbersome.
The youngest and I were contemplating how one would give a good interview for a branch like Armor, "Tanks are great" (is there anything more to say?) or Infantry "I like to go for long walks in the woods and in the rain carrying heavy loads."--Surely there is more nuance to it than that but in general, it does seem like a cumbersome process for the talent management folks in the Army.
Hopefully USMA will help prep the cadets to be successful, as they usually do.

DrMom said:

Fulda Gap. Your roots are showing @UHBlackhawk . Some of the branches have been doing interviews and other qualifying activities for years (Cyber, for example).
It seems like this will be cumbersome.
The youngest and I were contemplating how one would give a good interview for a branch like Armor, "Tanks are great" (is there anything more to say?) or Infantry "I like to go for long walks in the woods and in the rain carrying heavy loads."--Surely there is more nuance to it than that but in general, it does seem like a cumbersome process for the talent management folks in the Army.
Hopefully USMA will help prep the cadets to be successful, as they usually do.

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"Tanks are great."

If I read the explanation in Army Times right, USNA has been doing this for several years (perhaps longer). The concept is actually good..instead of placing young officers based purely on class rank, there is a process for those in the particular warfare communities to select those that have the aptitude (and attitude) for a particular branch.

I've mentioned a particular squad leader I had as a Plebe in the past; he went USMC Air because his class rank was too low to get a Navy Air slot (this was back in the 80's). This person had little aptitude for the Marine Corps, and I've always imagined that he got chewed up and spit out at The Basic School. Under Navy's current Service Assignment (instead of Service Selection) system, the USMC cadre at USNA would not have endorsed his request to go USMC.

It is my understanding that the Service Assignment process really doesn't change the outcome for most Midshipmen. Most get their one of their top 2 choices, but it does provide some quality control for the Services , and frankly reflects the real world where you have to apply for and qualify for your job. (Yes, I know...we would like to think that all of our grads are wonderful and fully qualified for any position in their respective Service, but let's face it, some are better than others--even at West Point. I recently read a book , Absolutely American, that followed a West Point Class , through the years at West Point, and a lot of what the author saw rings true at USNA as well).

Old Navy BGO said:

I recently read a book , Absolutely American, that followed a West Point Class , through the years at West Point, and a lot of what the author saw rings true at USNA as well).

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I read that book a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. Author was very fortunate to be there for those particular 4 years and turned it into a great story.