What Army MOS (branch) is the best to commission into?

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 23:00:59 -0500

I am currently in a program offered by the National Guard called "Accelerated OCS." When I finish I will have the opportunity to branch one of the following; Logistics, Field Artillery, Infantry or Intelligence. In your opinion, what would be the best option?

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Dec 13 at 2014 11:02 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 23:02:57 -0500

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member: where are you attending AOCS?

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Dec 14 at 2014 12:12 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 12:12:54 -0500

CPT Private RallyPoint Member, is there any advice you can offer future 200th Regiment officer candidate, SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member? I've been out too long to provide counsel regarding branch selection!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 1:44 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 13:44:05 -0500

If you plan to remain in Arkansas (or the neighboring states), I would strongly consider FA or IN. After that it would be LG and MI. The reason for this is that in Arkansas you have the 142nd Fires BDE in NWA and then you have other FA units attached to the 39th IBCT. This will give you the best opportunities for diversification of assignments and promotion due to the sheer number of positions available. Since you live in Rogers, this also may limit your commute which can be nice after a really long weekend. Infantry is going to offer you most of the same as well. The other two branches are not going to have as many positions, particularly as you promote which could limit your promotability and command options.

If I were you, I would reach out to the OSM for the state to double check the manning of each branch. You may find that one of the branches is way overstrength and that it will limit your career as well.

Oklahoma has a similar structure to their forces, but if you were planning to go north to Missouri, I would tell you to look at IN or EN there.

Oh....and.............. GO HOGS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Dec 14 at 2014 2:29 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 14:29:50 -0500

INFANTRY!

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Dec 14 at 2014 4:05 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:05:25 -0500

You have already got some great advice. Looking at availability of slots as you advance etc. it boils down to your long term goal. If you are looking at a career, you need to pay attention to opportunities, branch strength etc. if you are doing this because you just want to or are passionate about a particular branch, vice a long term career then go after it. I am a Logistician and spent my first three years chasing (unsuccessfully) a branch transfer. Then I realized I was where I was supposed to be. If you can't get out of it, you may as well get into it. The Army picks people for a reason. Sometimes you just have to hit the "I believe" button and grow where you are planted. Regardless of branch, leading soldiers is a privilege.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 4:26 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 16:26:09 -0500

Thanks to LTC Stephen C. for bringing me into this.

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member First, I am AMA grad from their AOCS program. I am in the North Carolina ARNG. I have been out of OCS for a bit over two years now. I was in the same boat you were in at one time. I was prior enlisted for ten year before I went so I think I had a good idea what I was doing. From then I even learned more. So here it is.

First, you want to look at your career progression potential. It may sound cool to be a intelligence officer but you have to map out your career path. If you plan on making up to LTC you are going to have a very rough time. Even being a Logistics officer, of which you would attain only at CPT, in your state would be a career killer.

In your state you seem to have two major units. You have a BCT and a Fire Brigade, maybe the AV BDE. Those are going to be your units that you would be primarily spending your time in your state. So if you were pick intel you would be looking some intel PL slots and only one Company Command per Brigade as there is only one MI company in a Brigade. Then you would be looking at a CPT slot in Battalion staff. The MAJ slot as a MI officer would be in BDE staff or maybe State Staff. If you were looking at Logistics you would find more slots as the Support battalions would all be Logistics officers up to the Battalion level with their battalion staff also. Beyond the battalion level you would be limited to where you could promote too.

Now you could go the path that I went. I went Infantry. Due to the BCT that we have in my state. You also have a Fires Brigade so FA would also be applicable here. If you choose IN as your branch you would have two battalions of PL slots. On top of that you would have Ten companies in which you command command, being HHC, A, B, C, and D companies in either of the Infantry battalions. In addition to that you would have all the staff slots in battalion. As you could see there would be more Infantry Captains then MI or LOG. That only means that there is more potential to promote. With that being said there would be 4 infantry MAJs in the battalions and more being BDE staff.

I went IN for the ability to pick up a command quicker. It really depends on how far you want to go. It may seem odd to plan out your career when you are not even in OCS yet but that one choice will drastically affect you. You will see officers down the road change their branch due to the lack of promotion. By then it is too late.

If you don't plan on going past CPT you really could pick whatever you want. Just know if you go something unique like CHEM or MP you will really be limiting your potential to promote.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 6:25 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 18:25:13 -0500

Do what you are motivated to do, otherwise you run the risk of doing it half-assed.

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 7:37 PM

1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 19:37:16 -0500

If you are looking at building a career outside of the military, Intelligence may be a good path. Build on that in the civilian world and the door could open for many opportunities.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 8:30 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 20:30:22 -0500

There is only one King of Battle!

Response by SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 14 at 2014 9:28 PM

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 14 Dec 2014 21:28:11 -0500

I appreciate all of the advice I have received from this thread; I am going to do some more research on my options. As of now, I plan on branching Infantry, but that is subject to change. I will keep you all updated as I go throughout the process!

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 25 at 2014 9:03 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 25 Dec 2014 21:03:15 -0500

SPC Fagan,
As an Armor guy I'm obviously bias about Armor but I think the best advice on this came from a Colonel at my University who addressed this exact topic. The Best branch to commission is the one you get.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2014 11:33 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 11:33:47 -0500

I would say logistics or Intelligence, but it all comes down to what you like to do.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 26 at 2014 11:25 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 26 Dec 2014 23:25:24 -0500

It all depends on what's your goals. Any combat arms is good but at the same time they are very competitive.

Response by SSG Tim Everett made Dec 30 at 2014 1:17 AM

SSG Tim Everett — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 01:17:55 -0500

On the one hand I want to say Infantry. On the other, I want to caution you to look more long-term -- what are you doing once you get out of the Army? Unless you plan on being buried whilst serving, at some point you WILL be a civilian again -- what then?

Marketability in the civilian job market should be something of a factor in your decision. My vote, therefore, would ultimately have to be for MI. There are a LOT of MI troops on RP, you can ask any of them what sort of opportunities you'll have once you get out. Off the top of my head, having a TS/SCI clearance, time in the intel field, and probably having worked with/for a civilian agency and having a degree will net you all manner of jobs just by being qualified. You could, quite literally, get out of the military one day and go to work in civvies the next. Starting out upwards of 80K/year.

It's worth consideration, even if being an intel weenie isn't as macho as being a bad-ass Ranger-qualified Infantry officer.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Dec 30 at 2014 11:10 AM

SSG Trevor S. — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 11:10:31 -0500

Logistics would be a very valuable management experience set to add to your resume for civilian side employment.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 11:10 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 11:10:54 -0500

Infantry and FA are definitely more promotable in the military right now, but they might not be forever if the Army keeps downsizing. Intelligence (35) and the new Cyber CMF (17) are not going anywhere. Also, Intelligence and Logistics are two of the best fields to get into after you get out, and having a clearance from being an Intelligence Officer is absolutely invaluable to future employers in many different vocations. In the Intelligence field I have had many troops who got out as junior enlisted Soldiers or junior NCOs with only a few years in and they got very comfortable jobs with their relatively little experience.

Response by 1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 30 at 2014 7:27 PM

1SG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 19:27:06 -0500

Only you can determine that. I can only tell you what I'd prefer.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 11 at 2015 1:48 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Mar 2015 13:48:52 -0400

Easy.... whichever will give you the leadership and professional opportunities you are suited for and you like. From OCS, your choices may be more limited, but leading Soldiers is a good option no matter what branch you get.... With your question being 3 months old, lemme risk by asking which branch you chose?

Response by LTC Stephen C. made Jul 12 at 2015 12:04 PM

LTC Stephen C. — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 12:04:47 -0400

SGT(P) Private RallyPoint Member, just thought might you update CPT Private RallyPoint Member and me. Did you decide to attend AOCS and if so, do you have a start date yet?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 13 at 2017 11:45 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 13 Jul 2017 23:45:18 -0400

IN what else! Quartermaster is good too, it can set you up for logistics branch (not speaking from experience)

Response by SGT Sunny Lalingua made Jul 22 at 2017 12:45 PM

SGT Sunny Lalingua — Sat, 22 Jul 2017 12:45:52 -0400

In my opinion, and through my life experience, get into the field you love. What do you like? What do you love? what are you willing to compromise for the sake of fast promotion, excitement? If you one day wish to become a BG or higher, you need TROOP LEADING/COMBAT/COMMAND. bUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO DECIDE FOR YOU, you gotta love what you do. Or you'll walk away from it or worse, lead, command badly, even toxically. And no one wants or needs a toxic leader.

Response by COL Robert Dey made Jul 19 at 2018 1:02 AM

COL Robert Dey — Thu, 19 Jul 2018 01:02:32 -0400

Reading the previous comments reminded me of a type of thinking that I disliked while on active duty, and that was looking at your service through the prism of “careerism”. Are you in service because you want to serve or are you there because you want to make rank and have an EZ retirement and civilian benes? I know the rank and benefits are important to family, but so is the courage and character of the soldier who follows a path that enables him to contribute his best and truly serve to best of his ability. If you are a warrior and good at it, go Infantry or Armor. Do what you love and do best. Whether or not you get rank and a good job after service you can look in a mirror at the end of your life and know you served and you did your best.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2018 10:40 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 10:40:43 -0500

In the Guard, Infantry will probably give you the greatest breadth of exposure. You will eventually work with Artillery, Logistics, Intelligence, etc. I noted your comment about using this relative to your civilian resume. My thoughts here are this... Leadership is a great intangible. If you can demonstrate discipline and mastery over the Troop Leading Procedures and look objectively at how your planning, decision making and leadership affect your Soldiers, that is the best way to create examples in future interviews for civilian employment. Regardless of your branch, developing factual and qualitative responses to behavioral type questions will be your ace. I did 3 years as an enlisted mechanic, 12 years as an Infantryman, and am currently an Engineer officer. My commission source was Direct Appointment. Good luck, whichever you choose!

Response by SGT Trip Heaverly made Feb 28 at 2020 9:50 AM

SGT Trip Heaverly — Fri, 28 Feb 2020 09:50:39 -0500

Infantry, 100% of the time. It teaches you how to lead. You can transition out after your first 4 years. And you wouldn’t do anything worth doing in those 4 years as support, you need experience and rank to be a decision maker.