It’s the brutal fact that in the ARNG, especially within smaller states, you can quickly find yourself “stuck” and stagnant because of the limited promotion opportunities within your branch in that state. Similarly, in the USAR, you can be faced with the fact that in order to move up, you have to transfer to a unit that drills in ANOTHER state completely.

In your experience, what have you been told about the pros and cons of having more than one branch within the ARNG/USAR?  Do you think it would help or could it harm career progression?

Do you have any stories or anecdotes about people you know who have more than one branch? 

Any points about why an Officer would want to or how they would go about changing branches?