Army Branching From the Citadel

[jl123]

So considering an Army Career, would it be fair to say branch detailing is not the best move?

It depends on the primary branch and detail branch. Spending time in Infantry, Armor, Field Artillery is probably worthwhile for those assigned to some primary branches, but I don't see the benefit of detailing Chemical.

MI, AG, FI, etc are pure staff functions. I am by no means an expert in these branches, so I will defer to those who actually served in them, but my perception is that what knowledge is lost by detailing is not as great as in more technical branches.

Signal Corps and Engineers have technical components that are greatly enhanced by their respective BOLC's and first tour experience. As a former EN officer, I would not have wanted to detail my first tour rather than lead an EN platoon.

 

[Casey]

Yea I don’t get EN LTs being branch detailed. They have too many flavors already that they need to be exposed to (vertical/horizontal construction, sapper, etc) that losing that time as a LT within the branch seems like putting them behind their peers who didn’t branch detail for understanding how to employ EN assets as a CPT/MAJ

 

[emwvmi01]

I was talking to one of my closest friends who is an Infantry detail MI officer recently.

He noted a recent LTC board had a statistically higher selection of detailed combat arms then straight selected officers. Other factors play in but an S2 who appreciates terrain and fields of fire tends to fare better than those who don't.

 

[AJC]

Combat Arms branch detail is a major ticket punch for advancement.
For a 20 year career it is surely valuable.
If your intention is to be in MI for 4 years and get out, not so much

 

[spatti33]

How common are aviation branches, they werent mentioned at all on here, at least not that I found, so is it extremely difficult or is it more that people dont come to the army for aviation?

 

[jl123]

How common are aviation branches, they werent mentioned at all on here, at least not that I found, so is it extremely difficult or is it more that people dont come to the army for aviation?

I don't know about ROTC. USMA Class of 2020 had 109 Aviation slots out of 1,091 Cadets.

For Aviation, the difficulty is less about academics/OML and more about Aviation specific testing, medical exam, branch rating, and willingness to make an extra commitment in service obligation.

Aviation went out around the middle of the OML without BRADSO and well into the 900's with BRADSO. Most were rated Most Preferred (1) with some rated Preferred (2). Well over half elected to BRADSO to increase chances of getting Aviation or to prevent getting leapfrogged by lower OML cadets.

 

[spatti33]

I don't know about ROTC. USMA Class of 2020 had 109 Aviation slots out of 1,091 Cadets.

For Aviation, the difficulty is less about academics/OML and more about Aviation specific testing, medical exam, branch rating, and willingness to make an extra commitment in service obligation.

Aviation went out around the middle of the OML without BRADSO and well into the 900's with BRADSO. Most were rated Most Preferred (1) with some rated Preferred (2). Well over half elected to BRADSO to increase chances of getting Aviation or to prevent getting leapfrogged by lower OML cadets.

excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is BRADSO and what do you mean by the rating?

 

[jl123]

excuse my lack of knowledge, but what is BRADSO and what do you mean by the rating?

Branch Rating: Each Army Branch (IN, AR, MI, etc) rates each Cadet 1 - Most Preferred, 2 - Preferred, 3 - Least Preferred. These are referred to as "buckets". During branch selection, Cadets in the Most Preferred bucket get first choice of that branch by OML (Order of Merit List). If there are still slots available, the selection continues in the Preferred bucket, and then in the Least Preferred bucket for remaining slots. The effect of this is that a Cadet ranked #900 on the OML can choose ahead of a Cadet ranked #1 on the OML by being in a higher bucket.

BRADSO: Branch Additional Active Duty Service Obligation. By agreeing to a service obligation of three years, in addition to the 5 years for USMA, a Cadet can leapfrog a higher ranking Cadet in the same branch rating bucket. Using the example above: if the #900 and #1 were in the same bucket, the #900 can choose ahead of the #1 by electing BRADSO, assuming the #1 does not elect BRADSO.

The above is a simplified explanation. The system is quite complicated and inherently involves considerable gamesmanship by both the Cadets and the branches.

 

[spatti33]

Branch Rating: Each Army Branch (IN, AR, MI, etc) rates each Cadet 1 - Most Preferred, 2 - Preferred, 3 - Least Preferred. These are referred to as "buckets". During branch selection, Cadets in the Most Preferred bucket get first choice of that branch by OML (Order of Merit List). If there are still slots available, the selection continues in the Preferred bucket, and then in the Least Preferred bucket for remaining slots. The effect of this is that a Cadet ranked #900 on the OML can choose ahead of a Cadet ranked #1 on the OML by being in a higher bucket.

BRADSO: Branch Additional Active Duty Service Obligation. By agreeing to a service obligation of three years, in addition to the 5 years for USMA, a Cadet can leapfrog a higher ranking Cadet in the same branch rating bucket. Using the example above: if the #900 and #1 were in the same bucket, the #900 can choose ahead of the #1 by electing BRADSO, assuming the #1 does not elect BRADSO.

The above is a simplified explanation. The system is quite complicated and inherently involves considerable gamesmanship by both the Cadets and the branches.

Wow, thank you very much for that! That is very interesting how that works!

 

[Rock Pack 10]

You need to focus on your academics, leadership and physical fitness. If you can excel in these areas and be in the top 10% you can probably get what you want. If you're in the top 25% still good chances. Basically, it's really up to you, don't worry about West Point grads, focus on yourself!