West Point has changed how cadets are assigned branches — ROTC will soon follow

I'm going to be honest...that sounds an awful lot like the way USNA's been doing it for decades. My selection was based on my "QPR", which was basically my GPA + PRT scores + some "military performance" factors all rolled into one...plus an interview with a panel of officers from my top choice of designator. Even then, selection included a dose of the "needs of the Navy"...and I honestly probably only made it because I interviewed "well", and the NFO billets were heavy that year. Ultimately, I don't like the fact that we make this decision "once and for all" in the Navy...I'm not sure the Army has the same issue. If a JO selects into one community, but later in their career, shows aptitudes for another where there may be a critical need...it should be fairly easy for them to make a change at certain key "wickets"-say between O-2 and O-3.

This might fix some problems, but could possibly make others worse. We weight the PT test way too highly in just about every meaningful comparison.

Hurt feelings have always been the case. I've known several guys and gals who got the opposite of what they wanted. One cadet I knew wanted Infantry so bad that when he didn't get it he gave up his commission and enlisted.

It has always been an issue filling branches. Let's face it, some branches are just more popular than others. You can't just throw all the $*!^bags into the unpopular ones.