Posted on Jan 17, 2024
Army has too many infantry, armor lieutenants, asks some to switch to combat-support jobs
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Posted 11 mo ago
Responses: 4
There's a headline I never expected to see. However, on second thought... I've had the opportunity of meeting ROTC candidates at our local university and all declared for commissions in the combat arms. I can't imagine a West Point Graduate opting for a support role. When I applied for OCS, I applied for the Infantry and have suffered survivors guilt for being commissioned in the Adjutant Generals Corps and watched my classmates killed in Vietnam (during part of my tour I was Chief of Casualty Reporting and had to write letters to their next of kin). Maybe it isn't as surprising at first blush as I first thought.
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SGT (Join to see)
In my time, most infantry officers were out of West Point, and many out of OCS. OCS officers fit right in, coming from the ranks.
We did have one excellent OX in the 2/505 Inf 82nd ABN, and he was from the Marines, who transferred over to the army. When asked why he crossed over, he said the the army had more to offer, and jump out of airplanes.
Our best CO was from the ranks too, then went to West Point and became an officer, out of Vietnam, he replaced our CO in the 2/505 inf. We would follow him anywhere he lead us.
We did have one excellent OX in the 2/505 Inf 82nd ABN, and he was from the Marines, who transferred over to the army. When asked why he crossed over, he said the the army had more to offer, and jump out of airplanes.
Our best CO was from the ranks too, then went to West Point and became an officer, out of Vietnam, he replaced our CO in the 2/505 inf. We would follow him anywhere he lead us.
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This is really nothing new. Combat arms always had too many LTs because the officer rank structure is a pyramid.
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I think that's a HUGE ask. Cadets typically pour a lot of their heart into their branch choice. If they have already chosen combat jobs, then they have little to no interest in combat-support, especially AG, Finance, and Signal. There should be some extra incentive on that request, if it truly is a request.
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