What duty location should I ask my branch manager for?

While I am a big fan of "duty stations," I would challenge you to look at your next assignment from a different point of view.  Instead of duty assignment, look at duty position.  Take a look at your Career Map, see what that next duty position is on your professional development ladder that will set you up for success for promotion, and then see where that position is offered.  If you go into a conversation with your PDNCO with your professional development as a primary consideration for assignment, it will start your conversation off on the right foot.

<p>To caveat MSG Stankovich, your focus should be on the position not the duty station, as any duty station will really be what you make of it. However, there are circumstances where you may want to consider a duty station which is advantageous to either yourself or your family. To illustrate I will share a personal experience quite literally JUST secured by branch. I have always gone where the Army has willed me to go. I've always requested Germany and yet its never happened for me (maybe its for the best), but always believing that maybe taking the assignments nobody else wants will be better in the long haul. Quite recently however I needed to take a real hard look at what would better for my FAMILY. Remember, once the uniform comes off at year 20+ the only ones left standing around are your family, IF you took care of them. My wife is an Air Force officer and we are currently not jointly stationed, something we are trying to work on. I am due to PCS out of Korea and Branch presented me with a few choices of duty stations. Alaska to deploy immediately after arrival (most advantageous for my career), Riley, Hood, Bragg, or Benning (supposedly a very lucrative aviator assignment). My first instinct was to ask for Alaska for the deployment, best way to rack up aviator experience. However I took a step back and pulled up googlemaps, the closest my wife would be able to be stationed would be 6hrs away, meaning in the Alaska wintertime we might as well be on other sides of the country. And Benning sounded like a sweet gig but same issues with proximity of assignments. So the obvious choice was Bragg, offering the closest proximity of assignments and a myriad of contingency assignments. </p><p>Now that was a lot of my own babbling to get to my point, you don't want to look at your next assignment as just a geographic location. Take the time to take into account all of the other aspects which go along with it. Broadening of career exp., differences in command positioning, and as always, how will it impact your family/future family?</p>