Posted on Apr 12, 2018
To all officers, what factors went into picking your branch? In retrospect, is there anything you overlooked?
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SPC Reichert- in my opinion your branch picks you instead of you selecting a branch. For example, I was ROTC, Branch Detail from Quartermaster to Infantry. I think the COLs provided the best answer though. Pick a branch with a wide promotion potential. Some branches are like a triangle with few officers at the top. Aviation for example. If you want to fly rotary aircraft then go Warrant Officer. Other branches like Sustainment (QM, OD, TC, AG, MSC) have an inverted triangle structure with few junior positions but numerous 0-5, 0-6 positions. The key is to immerse yourself in whatever branch you get. Become the subject matter expert in your field. Last piece of advice is in whatever you decide- go Joint. The job possibilities and locations where you will serve are endless in the joint environment. Best of luck.
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CPT Tom Monahan
RInwas ROTC and got an RA Commission and branched FA in the mid-80s. It was a large combat arms community with lots of LTC and COL slots. Problem was the Army’s Nuc inventories have become next to nill and the number of slots decreased. I did Branch transfer to QM as a 1LT while I was a FA BN S4. Best thing I ever did. I was fluent in killer and now a trained professional logistician. Regrettably I was a victim of an industrial chemical spill and was retired as a CPT at Ft Polk. Having become a logistician I was able to move into civilian supply chain management without missing a beat. Lastly, the Army is a large industrial complex. Between the depots, Arsenals, proving grounds, etc. logistics is a huge environment.
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I was a ROTC G2G product. I thought I was going to go back into the Infantry. Aviation sounded cool so I t was my first choice. It turned out to be an ev n better choice when I got to flight school and found out we get flight pay! While it was great getting to fly and getting extra pay the novelty soon wore off at CPT when you don’t really get to fly much. I switched to Military Intelligence and that was really interesting. Cyber is cool too. So I’m cyber but still use my intel skills.
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Originally, I joined the California Army National Guard to become a military police soldier and the division headquarters and the division MP Company was only 15 minutes away from my house. That made it easy to pick an MOS. Later, after I became commissioned as a military police lieutenant, I ended up having to go to a different unit and the end up going to be military police units three and a half hours north of me. At that time in California, most of the military police companies were not in Southern California but North of San Luis Obispo and in the Bay Area. It was because of this long drive that I decided to Branch transfer to armor. The armored unit I chose was only an hour away from my house.
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LTC Stephen Conway
You are welcome. Actually, my unit in San Luis Obispo got mobilised to go to Germany but I could not go because I hadn't finished my officer basic course. I was transferred to a unit in , Central California, which was actually 7 hours plus north of me. I end up flying to San Jose Airport from Orange County. My commander let me sleep in his office. So that was the real reason I wanted to transfer because of the long distance of flying and I ended up making about as much a PFC after subtracting Airline expenses. Now, it doesn't matter. I met my wife while visiting Las Vegas on a two weeks leave during operation Iraqi freedom. I ended up marrying her a few months after I came back. Ended up moving to Edmonton Alberta, Canada located just north of Montana. I joined a United States Army Reserve Civil Affairs unit in Upland, California. I have been flying from Canada to California monthly for the last 12 years. At least my unit pays me back up to $500 a month in travel expenses. For the first 5 years, it was nothing just maybe lodging in kind. Until recently, it was $300 reimbursement. The United States Army Reserve will reimburse you( if your unit is not at 100% strength). I've been lucky.
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LTC Stephen Conway
I started off in the military police branch, Branch transfer to armor then later I went into civil affairs. Civil Affairs is in the active component and in the Army Reserve. It is not in the guard. In the USAR, you need to be a senior first lieutenant with your Captain's career course out of the way to be able to get in. It is a functional area specialty that is always in high demand. So I've been lucky to get into combat support, combat arms and now combat service support.
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