Posted on Sep 14, 2015
Does a branch detail help or hinder an officer's career?
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It gives an officer more options and variety of experience, but can it hinder them as well?
Thoughts & personal experiences?
Thoughts & personal experiences?
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Officer
19A: Armor Officer
Officer 19A: Armor Officer
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 15
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My Best Man at our wedding was John E. Sena, (one year my junior in ROTC) who was destined to be an Airborne Ranger (BADASS) Infantry officer... and he was! However, when he found out that he was branch detailed to AG (known as the Shield of Shame then), he was so embarrassed that he didn't call or contact me for 6 years. When I finally ran into him years later, he was the assistant G1 in the 24th ID, and was later picked by his Division CG to lead a Task Force in Afghanistan because he was still one of the best Infantry officers in the Army and deserving of a combat command, even as an Adjutant General-branched officer. I am more proud of COL(R) Sena than most of my single-track combat arms brothers because he never stopped being a Soldier's Soldier, despite not staying in the branch of his choice! Nobody gets to choose whether they are branch detailed or not, but if you are, take your experience from the front lines and apply it to sustain the force in whatever branch you are assigned, brother!
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Depends...just like any other experience the Army hands you. If you are smart and make the most of it, good usually comes. One of the best MI CPTs I know was branch detailed Chemical. Lots of people would have been bitter, not her. She was assigned to our BfSB and I was the S2 and she sat with me and other MI Soldiers every chance she got. For her it was like having a dual major in college.
On the other hand, one of the all around worst officers I ever dealt with was branch detailed infantry, then came to MI. He made sure that everyone understood that he would "always be infantry," and viewed MI and MI Soldiers as nerds and not "real" Soldiers. He knew absolutely nothing about MI and was totally resistant to learning. He was sent to me to learn about SIGINT and after an hour he dismissed himself announcing that he was "good" and he let me know I was to "handle all that boring sh!t" without involving him. I know that he tried to stay infantry but they didn't take him. I suspect they saw his weak character even more clearly than I did.
In theater, they say, "there is no such thing as small parts, only small actors." The same is true in the Army. Do what you are told to do and knock it out of the park. Success will follow. Gripe, slow walk it, and/or blow it off, and you will just be given that same type of work until you demonstrate you are capable of more.
On the other hand, one of the all around worst officers I ever dealt with was branch detailed infantry, then came to MI. He made sure that everyone understood that he would "always be infantry," and viewed MI and MI Soldiers as nerds and not "real" Soldiers. He knew absolutely nothing about MI and was totally resistant to learning. He was sent to me to learn about SIGINT and after an hour he dismissed himself announcing that he was "good" and he let me know I was to "handle all that boring sh!t" without involving him. I know that he tried to stay infantry but they didn't take him. I suspect they saw his weak character even more clearly than I did.
In theater, they say, "there is no such thing as small parts, only small actors." The same is true in the Army. Do what you are told to do and knock it out of the park. Success will follow. Gripe, slow walk it, and/or blow it off, and you will just be given that same type of work until you demonstrate you are capable of more.
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CPT(P) (Join to see)
I am actually MI detailed to Armor, mam. I hope to avoid the same scenario. I actually chose the branch detail over a pure MI slot. I still want to spend a little more time on the ground and hoped that it would help make me a more well rounded MI officer. Any advice for my specific situation?
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CPT (Join to see)
Yes! Learn everything you can about ENY maneuver tactics. It's a lost art. You will be taught MDMP and IPB as part of your officer training. As an AR officer, you provide input to that process, as an MI officer, you will be one of the key managers of it. MI officers often try to go it alone, as if they should be expert on things that they have no training at all in. I was trying to lay out ENY range fans. I went over to the Fires cell and asked for help with a specific weapon. They asked me if the ENY had fitted the weapon with smooth or rifled barrels and which types of rounds they typically carried. I brought them back the answers and they gave me the effective ranges. That’s how it *should* work. MI officers have access to tons of data. We do not necessarily know the importance/relevance of all of it and sometimes fail to ask the right people the right questions…or worse, fear asking questions thinking people will think we are incompetent. Your AR training will allow you to basically speak two languages. Spend time with your S2 staff and let them know your future plans. I am sure they will be happy to include you.
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LTC (Join to see)
The good CPT makes a couple of very good points:
1. Be a loyal Armor officer until you're not - but don't be afraid to visit the "intel weenies" and learn all you can.
2. Once you make the change, make the change. You can hang your ugly black Stetson and a armor love me plaque or two in your office but that's about all you need to say about being an armor officer - let your understanding of maneuver, clear understanding of terms, technology, graphics and TTPS and your ability to realistically visualize the battlefield do your talking.
1. Be a loyal Armor officer until you're not - but don't be afraid to visit the "intel weenies" and learn all you can.
2. Once you make the change, make the change. You can hang your ugly black Stetson and a armor love me plaque or two in your office but that's about all you need to say about being an armor officer - let your understanding of maneuver, clear understanding of terms, technology, graphics and TTPS and your ability to realistically visualize the battlefield do your talking.
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How can it not help sir? It will broaden you into a more well rounded officer. Especially if you are a non-maneuver branch and you get to serve as a maneuver LT. You will be way ahead of your counterparts.
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LTC John Wilson
That was the theory, but -- just like the Joint Assignment scheme -- branch detailing sets Officers up for failure.
Since Officers are graded on a curve, and Senior Raters must judiciously manage their SR Profile, Battalion Commanders usually like to reserve their "Top Blocks" for Lieutenants who will remain in the same branch. Detailed officers fall lower on the "pyramid," which harms them later on.
Since Officers are graded on a curve, and Senior Raters must judiciously manage their SR Profile, Battalion Commanders usually like to reserve their "Top Blocks" for Lieutenants who will remain in the same branch. Detailed officers fall lower on the "pyramid," which harms them later on.
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