Any branch gave me the opportunity to serve. The Infantry gave me the purest opportunity to serve my fellow Soldiers. Other branches had platforms and weapon systems and capabilities and memorandums and maintenance. Other branches had the same high quality Soldiers as the Infantry, but they also had so many other distractions. The Infantry prioritized their “platform” to be a well-trained Soldier. So, I choose Infantry, because I asked myself what is the pure essence of military service, and what branch puts me closest to Soldiers?

There is another compelling thought process that I heard while my classmates and I were choosing our branches. As my buddy put it, “you join the Army with the idea of going to war. Not the desire to go to war, but the idea that joining the Army makes going to war a real possibility in your future. In war, every Soldier needs to know how to fight. So, if I might go to war and I might get in a fight, I want to be in a branch where I surround myself with other Soldiers that know how to fight. And nobody trains to fight more than the Infantry.”

My roommate used a similar version of the thought process but it ended with, “if I’m going to get in a fight I want two tons of steel wrapped around me and the ability to shoot sabot rounds.” He branched Armor.

That got me to the Infantry. The question I used to decide where to post would also work for deciding how to branch. I had decided to post to Germany where my best friend was also posting and we were going to share an apartment, learn German, and drink lots of beer. I shared my plans with a mentor of mine at West Point and he gave me the right question to ask myself. It’s a question I stole and still use to make career decisions today. He shrugged when he heard my plans to go to Germany and said, “That’s not a bad way to think about it. Me personally, I never knew how long my military career would last – I might not like it and want to get out, I might pay the ultimate sacrifice in a foreign land. So, I always wanted to en- sure I would be proud of my military service and that I had selected the toughest assignment available at every opportunity. If Germany is the toughest assignment you can get, you should go to Germany…” Holy eff, I felt three inches tall after that little pep talk. I did not post to Germany. I choose an assignment I felt would demand more. To generalize the question for something that works for branching or posting or prioritizing your next assignment: “Which option allows me to serve at my greatest capacity?” If you are a numerical savant and your greatest service will be developing new algorithms in the Finance Corps, you should serve there. If you were part of the young aviators club and have wanted to be Top Gun in an Apache helicopter your whole life, branch Aviation. Go where you feel like you have the greatest capacity to serve.

As a final note, some cadets will not get their first, second, or even sixth choice of branch. In those in- stances, just reverse the thought process. Serve in the greatest capacity you are able in the branch you receive. At the end of the day, it’s about service. Serve the country. Serve the Constitution. Ask yourself at every opportunity, “how best may I serve?”

I firmly believe that I would be just as happy and fulfilled in more than half of the Army’s branches as I am in my current branch. I say all of this because it was a message I wish I heard during my branching process: Don’t feel like you can only be happy with just one. You could be just as happy with 5… 10… 15… of them.

With that said, you still need to put deliberate thought into your selection. After all, your choice does matter. Here is what I did:
– I started thinking about my decision early: freshman year. This gave me time to talk with many people and shape the experiences I had in school to help inform my decision.
– I researched every branch option and spoke to at least one person in each branch.
– I analyzed what I wanted out of my life and what was important to me. Then I looked at how those branches fit into that.
– Once I narrowed down the choices to my top few, I talked with a few more people with each branch or had longer discussions with them, asking difficult questions to really get to know the branch. I found that everyone’s experiences were different, so it helped to talk to multiple people.
– I selected a CTLT slot with what I thought was my top branch choice to validate (or not) my decision.

I’m happy with the decision I made and the branch I received, in part because of the time I put into researching each branch. Every branch has a purpose and an important mission. If it didn’t, the Army would get rid of that branch.

At the end of the day, remember: you will be a leader in whatever branch you receive. While each branch has their differences, leadership is leadership. The applications are different, but the core principles are the same.

I enjoy the transportation branch and now, being a logistics officer, I love the different areas I get to learn and work in. In making my decision for my branch, I wanted something that would translate as a good career transition field in the civilian world. I wanted to ensure I gave myself the option to have a good job outside of the Army. Being at the management level in logistics, there are many opportunities and options for me when I leave the military.  I will also leave with management skills and experience along with being a well-rounded person.