Do you get to choose your duty station preference right after commissioning, or at any point in a officer's career?

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 08:39:37 -0400

Response by COL Randall C. made Jul 26 at 2023 9:30 AM

COL Randall C. — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 09:30:13 -0400

Short answer: Yes (sort of).
Long Answer: "Duty station preference" is an outdated way that assignments were done previously.

The way the Army does officer assignments is through the Army Talent Alignment Process (ATAP)*. The way officers do it is through AIM* - you can think of AIM as ASK for officers.

On one side will be the officer with their knowledge, skills, and behaviors (KSBs) and all the projected position vacancies that meet those KSBs will be on the other side. You will have the ability to express your preferences by prioritizing them against what's available that match your KSBs. Plus the unit gets a vote as well.

An good overview video of the process is at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mEBe7fzrmI
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* ATAP - https://www.army.mil/standto/archive/2019/10/16/
* AIM 2.0 - https://aim.hrc.army.mil/portal/usr_services.aspx
* Officer Talent Management overview (DA PAM 600-3) - https://armypubs.army.mil/epubs/DR_pubs/DR_a/ARN36110-PAM_600-3-000-WEB-1.pdf

Army Talent Alignment Algorithm

The Army Talent Alignment Process (ATAP), uses a mathematical algorithm to match soldiers to available positions. The Army calls the newly minted algorithm t...

Response by CPT Lawrence Cable made Jul 26 at 2023 10:16 AM

CPT Lawrence Cable — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 10:16:08 -0400

You don't even get a guaranteed Branch. You get a wish list, but OCS is needs of the Army and choice is based on Merit.

Response by COL Dan Ruder made Jul 26 at 2023 1:56 PM

COL Dan Ruder — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 13:56:06 -0400

In the beginning, and throughout my career, I never really had a list of preferred duty stations. I did however have a mental list of duty stations where I DID NOT want to be stationed. It was a short list. It was easier avoiding these TRPs versus trying to hit one that I wanted.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 26 at 2023 6:07 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 18:07:50 -0400

The only thing I knew during OCS was my branch assignment. It came out pretty close to the end if I remember correctly. I did not know my base until my orders came out assigning me to Ft. Sill (FA). On those orders it was stated that I would be stationed at Stewart after my OBC. Hope that helps!