Posted on Oct 20, 2021
2LT Field Artillery Officer
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I’m a CDT and I will be commissioning this June. We just received our branch preference results back, and my top two choices (FA and AR) both put me as “most-preferred.” I’m completely torn between the two, and I only have a couple days to make a decision on my #1 choice. Does anyone have any insight on the branches (positives and negatives) that might help me decide? Thank you!
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MSG Thomas Currie
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Edited 4 y ago
It seems to me that at this point the choice needs to be all about your goals and your expectations for what you want to do and accomplish by serving in the Army. Are you envisioning an Army career or is the Army a brief detour on your way to other life goals? How do your see yourself interacting with peers, subordinates, and superiors? And what ideas do you have about what life as a 2LT will be (to be blunt many cadets considering IN, AR or FA, view themselves as some sort of action hero figure and are subsequently disappointed to learn that it is mostly tedious paperwork and administrivia.)

If your military service is primarily a detour between college and your real life, I would agree totally with SFC Michael Hasbun. If you are looking towards a military career, these branches offer both opportunities and challenges.

I will acknowledge that I have nearly zero knowledge about what life would be in FA. My career was as an Armor NCO. I can't comment on what a 2LT does in FA -- I don't think I ever saw one.

I did spend a few months as an tank Platoon Leader - not as a Platoon Sergeant inheriting a platoon briefly in the absence of an officer, but actually arriving in a unit to take over a platoon as Platoon Leader. I hated that job, but probably for reasons that wouldn't be relevant to you.

I shouldn't need to tell you that both AR and FA are branches that only recently opened to women and are still overwhelmingly male. I do mention it because the Army is very different from the college ROTC environment - even the summer ROTC training is carefully orchestrated. In either branch, you will be quite visible and noticed. And, yes, in both branches there will be people who doubt your ability just based on being female. We are still years away from the point where you would be Just-Another-Officer in either branch. If that kind of visibility and scrutiny bothers you, these branches may not be a good fit.

Both are also branches where physical strength is expected - and occasionally essential. Although officers don't routinely do much physical work in any branch, there are occasions when an Armor officer needs to actually perform as part of the tank crew - your life and the lives of three other tankers may well depend on it.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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MSG Currie, I know it has been a while since you responded, but I just regained access to my account and wanted to thank you for taking the time to provide your insight and advice. I appreciate your acknowledgment of some of the challenges I may face, especially as a female in combat arms. Recently I've been fortunate enough to gain a few female FA mentors who have given me a look into their experiences and it has helped me prepare for that aspect
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SSG Ernie Pridemore
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Artillery wins wars..Tanks...Cav and Infantry don't.
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1LT Rich Voss
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Wow ! Those are two good ones. I've been both. Commissioned as a tanker at Fort Knox a long time ago. I absolutely loved that. My dream sheet included Germany, and that's where I served the bulk of my active duty. Sadly, my old base is now closed. When my active duty commitment was completed I joined a Reserve Mech Arty Brigade here in Chicagoland (nearest tankers were in Michigan). I was assistant S2, so my direct reports were clerical, not artillerymen. I did get my own helicopter though ! Brutal honesty, neither did my hearing any favors. Can't really wear ear protection and be a good commander. And frankly, I'm a bit jealous of my much younger counterparts that got to use the Abrams in "anger". My tank was an M60. So, I cast my vote for Armor. Nothing like being part of a highly trained crew, or being a platoon leader or higher in a tank unit. Best wishes on your choice Mia !
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, thank you for your response! I apologize for not being able to respond until now - nearly 3 months later. I had technical difficulties with my account and lost the ability to reply to any posts until it got fixed today. I was able to see some of the replies I received, and was relieved to see you say that they were both good options! Thank you again for taking the time to help me with my decision.
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Torn between branching FA or Armor. Any insights on the two?
SFC Casey O'Mally
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I assume that by this point you have a basic understanding of the branches and what they do, so I won't belabor that.

The biggest obvious (but often overlooked) downside for FA is hearing loss. But Tanks are pretty dang loud, too, so it is pretty much a wash, there.

I have not been FA or AR, not have I been in an FA or AR unit (although I spent some time in a Cav Squadron). So I can't give you great insight there, either.

But what I can tell you is that from what I have seen and heard, maintenance absolutely makes or breaks an armor unit - and thus the armor officer. Yes, maintenance is important for all units, but it has a special place in an armor unit. Very few young officers plan on joining the Army to spend 1/4 of their time in the motor pool and another 1/4 of their time tracking and reporting maintenance. I may be slightly exaggerating but only slightly. That is probably the one thing I can think of that won't likely be on any flowcharts, decision matrices, or smart guy posters.

That is, of course, not to say that maintenance will not be an important part of what you do in FA - or any other branch. Just that it seems to me to be a BIGGER part of the life of an Armor officer (and enlisted).
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
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My experience with Tankers is from the Infantry or Combat Engineer side of things, but I could do Tanker. Spent a long time in Divisional Combat Engineer (Mech) units, so I am pretty familiar with maintenance, my bet would be that I had a lot more diverse and number of vehicles verses an average Cav company.
I don't regret my 11B days, but Light Infantry is a young mans game and once you get much past the 30 mark, other jobs start looking attractive. Especially ones that have a vehicle and doesn't involve hump a ruck everywhere.
Oh, and what percentage of US Field Artillery isn't mechanized today?
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
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MAJ Ken Landgren - I had M113's and at least one of the Chassis's for the CEV and AVLB were M48 Patton (the rest were M60's). Try maintenance on those frames. The M113's were easy, everyone in the world still runs those boxes, but just finding parts in the 90's for the older M60 frames started being an issue, even though there were a lot of them still around. OTOH, maintenance on the Engine was almost as simple as the M113.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
CPT Lawrence Cable
4 y
MAJ Ken Landgren - It would be my choice for a Tank also. The electronics, ride, range of the guns, and protection would be hard to beat. The old M60 was a decent Tank, but the profile was too damn tall, but then again, so is a Bradley's.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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SFC O'Malley, I apologize for not being able to respond sooner; I had some technical issues with my account shortly after making my post, and was unable to post replies until today. Thank you for taking time to respond to my question and share your knowledge! It provided good insight into what it might be like as an Armor Officer, and aligned pretty well with what I have heard from others in Armor
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SSG Michel Smith
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Both will treat you well if you listen to your NCO's. Let them do what they were trained for.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Thank you for your response! I'm sorry it took me until now to respond, I lost access to my account and just regained it today. I have learned from great NCOs throughout my time in school, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue to learn from NCOs throughout my career. I will carry your advice with me!
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SGT Herbert Bollum
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FA all the way.
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Lt Col Jim Coe
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As an aviator, I like MAJ Ken Landgren answers. I could go for a fast moving operational job that requires concentration, intelligence, integrity--sounds a bit like flying. On the other hand, I know logistics is very important in all branches and often greatly influences the outcome of battle. SFC Casey O'Mally has an excellent point about the importance of maintenance in Armor units. If the tanks don't roll, then the unit isn't effective. Similar with aviation. In the Air Force, maintenance is separated from operations. The ops folks aren't in charge of fixing airplanes. Maintenance folks aren't in charge of air combat tactics. Apparently the Army isn't that way. The ops folks manage maintenance as well as combat operations. Keep that in mind. In all services, officership involves lots of paperwork to keep the unit going. People and supplies have to be managed. Higher headquarters questions and required reports have to be answered. And then there's always the senior officer bright idea project officer opportunities. No matter your choice, keep your head down, work hard and smart every day, learn all you can about your people, equipment, and TTP; listen to your NCOs.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, I apologize for responding so late; I lost access to my account shortly after making my original post and did not regain access until today. I was lucky enough to still be able to see some of the comments I received, and yours was one of them. I wanted to thank you for your insight, and for taking the time to advise me. I ultimately went FA, and I'm extremely excited! I'll do just as you said, and I'm looking forward to the opportunity to learn as much as I can.
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SFC Michael Hasbun
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Both are a useless waste of your education. Choose one of the logistical or technical branches. Set yourself up for the future.
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SFC Casey O'Mally
SFC Casey O'Mally
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FA actually is pretty doggone technical and NEEDS top notch math skills. Not a waste of an education - remember two of Murphy's laws of war: Friendly Fire... isn't; and Indirect Fire... isn't. I would prefer outgoing NOT become incoming.
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1LT Rich Voss
1LT Rich Voss
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SFC - I didn't consider being an Armor Officer a waste of my education. And when I served during Viet Nam/Cold War, even West Point grads were required to spend at least one year in a combat arm, regardless of their degree. One of my counterparts had his degree in nuclear physics ! (We're still in touch, he retired as a LTC). During my last year in Germany I had the pleasure of being the platoon leader of HQ tanks, mortars , scouts, and Commo section, along with being BN Asst S2. That certainly required every bit of my education, and more. Later, during my time in the active reserves, I was Asst S2 of a Mech Arty Brigade. Don't regret a minute of serving in either. Correction, wish my hearing was better....
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CPT Aaron Kletzing
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LTC Jason Mackay may have great advice here
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LTC Jason Mackay
LTC Jason Mackay
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CPT Aaron Kletzing
CPT Aaron Kletzing
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LTC Jason Mackay thanks! 2LT (Join to see) you should check out that post he linked to above!
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, I apologize for getting back to you so late, but I lost access to my account shortly after making this post and only just regained access this morning. Fortunately, I was able to see some of the responses through a guest account, and I was able to see this comment and I do think it helped me throughout my decision making process. Thank you again for taking the time to help me out, and I apologize for the technical difficulty that led to this delay.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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LTC Jason Mackay - Sir, thank you for this! It helped me through making my decision, and it's useful insight that I plan to share with the younger CDTs in my program as they go through their branching process. I am sorry for responding so late, but I lost access to my account for an extended period of time.
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CPT Chuck Flint
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My response is too late but I would like to know which branch you selected and how it is going.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Good afternoon sir! I ended up putting FA for my top choice and was fortunate enough to end up branching FA as well. I commission in a few weeks, and then I'll be heading to BOLC.
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CPT Chuck Flint
CPT Chuck Flint
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Congratulations!! Field Artillery has a lot of great opportunities and can certainly open the door for career opportunities after your time in service.
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LTC Jerry Gordon
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Armor, FA, treats it’s soldiers like canon fader.
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LTC Program Manager
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I would spend more time determining what your third choice is. When I commissioned ROTC claimed a "success" if they got you a branch in your top 3. MP was my third choice behind Engineer and Armor.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Thank you for the advice sir! I was extremely fortunate and received my first pick (FA). I'll pass this advice along to our Juniors who are beginning their branching process.
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LTC Program Manager
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Best of Luck on your Career in the FA! The Army is what you make of it.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Hi all -
I apologize that I was unable to get to thanking each of the responses in a timely manner - I had some technical issues with my account since I first made the post and didn't regain full access to my account until today. Thankfully, despite not being able to post responses, I was still able to see each response and I greatly valued each person's input. I ended up deciding on putting FA as my #1, and and was fortunate enough to ultimately receive it as my branch assignment!
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COL Field Artillery Officer
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Can’t go wrong either way. The one thing with FA is you have a wider variety of roles - PL, FDO, and FSO and still be a primary player.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, thank you for your response! I am extremely excited to say I put FA as my top choice and received it as my branch assignment! The wider variety of roles within FA played a really big role in my decision, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to learn and develop within each of those roles.
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LTC Fa Deputy Assistant Commandant
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FA…all branches all incredible opportunities to serve. However, there is a lot of upcoming growth in Field Artillery in the coming years….and consider the #1 priority for the Chief of Staff of the Army is long range, precision fires!
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, thank you for your response! I apologize for taking so long to get back to you - I lost access to my account for a while and just got it fixed by RP. I ultimately decided on FA and ended up receiving it as my branch assignment!
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LTC Jerry Gordon
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Go armor, I was forced to go FA, an I hated the way soldiers were treated. There was no Esprit de corps and just wasn’t nice store senior officers belittled junior officers and everything else when I went to another branch I was so happy when I made captain.
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CPT Senior Instructor
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Both are great choices. In reality any career field you are passionate about is great. I know I chose infantry because I wanted to be at the tip of the spear. I have really enjoyed my time in the service. I would ask yourself if you would rather be fighting with a tank or firing a cannon. When it comes to assignments you only go where there is your MOS. If you wanted to be Airborne then you shouldn't go Armor. There is only one armor airborne unit and it's in the 82nd. It is only a company and I don't think it is a parament unit yet. So in that case you would really only be able to go armored units. You would have to look up a map to find them but you would be looking at Fort Bliss, Hood, Riley, and there is one place in Europe. If you were looking at FA then you could go to any base that has a Brigade Combat Team. You could be FA in an Armored unit or an Airborne unit. That is something that is a bit more desirable to me.
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2LT Field Artillery Officer
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Sir, I apologize for responding to your comment so late. I had technical issues with my account and lost the ability to post replies here; fortunately I was able to get it fixed so I can now finally respond to everyone. I definitely took your insight into consideration when making the decision to go FA, because like you mentioned, I'd really like to spend some time in an Airborne unit, and the FA duty stations are significantly more appealing to me than Armor. Ultimately, it came down to the one I felt more passionate about overall which was FA. I really want to thank you for taking the time to help me and to share your advice with me because it was extremely helpful.
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