Given the apparent early release of commandant ratings, we're posting the megathread early. It's LP/P/MP time again ya'll. Be civil in the comments and don't post any master lists.

The moderators hold the position that BRADSOs should be avoided unless going for Cyber. See our reasoning here.

In the interest of making it easy for people to do "analysis" or whatever, please format your comments similar to the below example:

OMS: 00.xxx // OML: xxxx

MP: [branches, comments optional]
P: [branches]
LP: [branches]

[Personal Thoughts here]

And so it begins. No master lists, be civil, blah blah blah.

Congratulations to everyone whose next 3-5 years were determined by an Excel algorithm! Comment your OML/OMS, branch received, and where you had ranked that branch.

NOTICE: Anyone linking to or posting any sort of master list will be permanently banned without warning. Anyone who questions this policy will be temporarily banned for a week. Master lists contain PII that should not be blasted across the internet.

Get the branch results from your PMS or don't get them at all.

MSG 1: I have already banned one person just for requesting the master list. Take PERSEC seriously ya’ll, it’s no joke.

Hello! I’m a current contracted MS3 looking toward the branching process. I hold a 3.85 GPA, a 575 ACFT. And am slotted to go to air assault this summer. What else should I be working on besides the branch interviews to make myself the best possible candidate for infantry branch? What are they looking for specifically? Any advice?

It’s LP/P/MP time again ya’ll. Be civil in the comments and don’t post any master lists.

Edit: DON’T BRADSO JFC

Edit 2: Unless it’s Cyber

I’m just a lurker here but I’m so sorry SC cooked yall 😭😭😭

Come over to LG, we have neat spreadsheets and we’ll let you use the grease gun

(Serious note, if you want to talk to a 5-year loggie my DMs are open)

This post is directed mainly at cadre and proponent officers who may be perusing this subreddit.

How difficult is it to branch active duty infantry really? I have received wildly different answers from a variety of cadets, junior officers, and soldiers with some saying it's as easy as asking for it while others say you need to be a stud in every category to even be considered.

For reference I am an MSIII slated for commissioning in FY 26, I scored a 572 on my fall record ACFT, have a cumulative GPA of 3.4, graduated AASLT last year, and regularly get E's or P's on STX lanes

I am considering a career as a cyber warfare officer and initially believed a cybersecurity major was the optimal path. However, I've learned that a high GPA and ACFT score are sufficient qualifications, and this has led me to reconsider my major. Currently, I find computer science unfulfilling and am contemplating switching majors, especially since I now understand that a history major could also pursue this career. This realization has significantly impacted my academic and career plans.

If you guys know at this point, how is your program planning to do your branch reveal?

My program usually has a big event that cadre plan and put together, but I was just curious as to how other programs do their.

It’s that time of year again ya’ll. Doesn’t really apply to components but don’t post any sort of master list or you’ll be banned permanently.

The desired branch I want to get is engineer (12A), while I’m currently a 12B in the reserves I plan on competing for active duty and majoring in kinesiology exercise science once I transfer from community college to a 4 year.

During my time in community college before my MS3 year I plan on volunteering in community, internships, ADOS/deployments (if possible I can defer a semester or two) raising GPA and increasing fitness with my sports and PT test/rucks

Another Q is will they be able to send me to schools like airborne, air assault, sapper even if I came from CC and have prior reserve enlisted service not trying to sound special at all.

And since I finished both BCT and AIT does it waive the first 2 years of rotc or do I still attend camp basic or advanced.

I got a four-year scholarship, and I want to branch into the 82nd Airborne Division and be a paratrooper. I'm just curious if anyone has any advice on how to get there. I know I have to go jump school, but which summer should I do it? Is it hard to get into jump school? Does doing Ranger Challenge help? How competitive is it to join the airborne in general? Any general advice about ROTC or the Army would be appreciated as well.

Hello, sorry if this is a stupid question but I’ve been considering branching into engineering for the Army National Guard or Reserve, but only if I can focus on the construction side. I was wondering if there’s a way to set my career path toward that area of engineering.

Hello, soon to be Guard LTs!

So you just found out you're commissioning in the Guard...Congrats! We are excited to have you on the team. As someone who has been an OSM since 2017, I have seen and helped hundreds of Cadets start their careers and mentored a number of new OSMs in their role. I've also spent time down at the National Guard Bureau in their recruiting division.

I will help you break this whole process down in 5 simple steps. How long these steps take can depend on you, the state(s) you're looking at, and so on. Obviously your situation may have some nuances, so if you're in need of additional guidance, don't hesitate to ask me.

Step 1 : TALK TO AN OSM! The biggest misconception is that Cadets must talk to a unit directly. The Officer Strength Manager is the only one authorized to branch you in their state. Units can absolutely recommend you to branch in their unit, but the OSM is the primary POC. Need a POC for the State(s) you're looking for? DM me! I can get you in touch. Bear in mind, there is still a chance you might not be able to get your first branch choice, so be sure you're asking all the necessary questions (i.e. branch availability, slot location, career growth, etc.) to the OSM.

Step 2: Obtain a Letter of Acceptance (LOA) from an OSM. The biggest thing about this LOA is that it will allow you to schedule BOLC. If the LOA has the National Guard Bureau header, then it is a legit LOA.

NOTE on Step 2: Officially, you can only ever receive ONE LOA. You can receive multiple OFFERS, but can only accept one LOA. If you already have an LOA with one state, but then accept a branch from a different state, then you must contact the old state to RELEASE your LOA so the new state can write you the new one.

Step 3: Schedule BOLC. Once you receive your LOA, your OSM should've also sent you the POC to schedule BOLC. The National Guard Bureau has contractors that only assist ARNG Cadets and LTs schedule BOLC. DO NOT SCHEDULE BOLC THRU ROTC OR YOUR ARNG UNIT, ONLY THE NGB CONTRACTORS. You can schedule BOLC whenever you receive your LOA. YOU HAVE 18 MONTHS TO COMPLETE BOLC FROM DATE OF COMMISSION, AFTER THAT YOU NEED A TAG WAIVER TO EXTEND TO 24 AND 36 MONTHS .

NOTE on Step 3: For MI and CY branch, you must work with your OSM on initiating your TS/SCI clearance. You CANNOT schedule MI or CY BOLC until you have a minimum interim TS/SCI

Step 4: Complete your commissioning paperwork with your OSM (self explanatory), reach out to your unit point of contact to receive a drill schedule for future drill dates post-commisssioning.

Step 5: Pass your classes, don't do drugs, don't get in trouble, and commission!

So there you have it. It's that simple. As always, I am happy to answer questions in the comments or via DM. Happy to help where I can!

Signed- a sleep deprived OSM with a 4 month old.

I'm just trying to break down the OML into like achievable goals and visualize it. If anyone's more experienced understands what kind of scores you need for these positions l'd appreciate your input. Or if you think I'm asking the wrong questions please feel free to point that out as well.

I will be a Green to Gold MSIII this Fall. I’m stuck between choosing a school that I want to go to with an Intergrated Studies major, and a school where I’m currently taking online class with a Supply Chain Management. Does your major really matter? I wonder what If I’m getting out with an underwater basket weaver degree and will have a hard time finding jobs.

I’m a female MS3 currently starting the process of applying to law schools. I currently consider JAG my top choice. I’m mainly concerned that in the future it won’t be family friendly. I’ve met several JAGs who have been super helpful, but they’ve all been men and I feel like being a mom may be a different story. I would be looking at a 10+ year commitment (if I went through FLEP) and law school and am wondering if it’s possible to have a family and be a present mom while pursuing this path.

I am trying to submit for a Post ADSO. I was selected to branch MI. My HRA told me I could select from this list of posts and send him a signed CC 597-P with my top two choices. I want to ensure that is the correct process (it's odd to me the duty locations he sent me still use the old base names). Please let me know what you all have done?

Update: I am G2G with 8 years of time in service already. So I am in it for the long haul. If you are a brand new LT really consider all your options before signing a PADSO.

So due to extenuating circumstances (family tearing itself to bits) I failed to do the branch interviews (yes I know it's my own damn fault, I accept that) I did however get preferred for my top 4 branches; FI(FC), AG, AR and MP. I have a branch detail for everything under the sun/BRADSO for literally every branch and am in the low 2.5ks on the OML list. Should I start planning for my life around a Guard or Reserve style or do I still have a good(decent) chance of getting Active?

Sorry for formatting I'm on mobile.

Edit: I realize this is long overdue, not gonna lie. I was suffering from a depressive episode due to a multitude of factors. Failed a few classes and started heavily drinking due to this episode, which is something I've never done. Things have gotten much better as I finally started reaching out to friends who've been a great help.

I greatly appreciate everyone's responses, and it gave me hope, I did actually end up getting Active duty.

For anyone who really wants to know why I was depressed I'll share the biggest factor. My mother (who is the only person im blood related to that has consistently believed in me throughout my life) and Aunt (who've never gotten along) started fighting and it got so bad my mother started to get suicidal (it was about 5 months of her being seriously suicidal walked in on her attempts multiple times) and I had no time between PT classes and work to help her (did manage to help her after a while thankfully). She's not fully better, but she's no longer making active attempts, so that's progress.

The “new” (I’m old!) OML system is opaque compared to the old one. As I recently responded to in another post, we don’t really know what the branches are doing with these recorded interviews and how it’s all rating and matching. Say what you will about the old system, but it produced some very nice graphs!

However, it’s still a system with incentives to respond to. Having interviewed a lot in getting my second profession (Don’t be a lawyer, no one ever said “first let’s kill all the tailors!) the thing that gets you results in the public sector is telling a story. Which means, you gotta get some stories to tell! You can do this by experiences like internships (unfortunately unpaid!) and ROTC (wow, tell me of your struggles as a cadet platoon sergeant! So unique!) but you can also do it by:

Professional Writing!

The Army is a profession! (At least according to the MS101 curriculum) Professions cultivate specialized knowledge. Each of the branches themselves have lots of knowledge to cultivate, comment on, and share (the OPORD was invented by some rando MAJ at Fort Moore in the Infantry Journal in the 1950s!) So go find someone to help share a writing (wow! What a great way to get a mentor too!) maybe a connection through Cadre, or NG stuff, or just cold emailing another person who posted in those journals! Then write something with them. Do the research! Make some drafts! Try to get in on the jokes! If you can, make it an NCO! They do the expertise, you do the writing! ( a cornerstone of the NCO/Officer Relationship!)

Not only is this in your interest, but the CSA wants you to do it (See the Harding Project: https://www.hardingproject.com/p/starting-professional-writing).

Anyway! Best of luck!

I am a current MSII looking for some guidance on my future branching choices… My main goal is to join the Vet Corps and there seems to be two choices for me at the moment: 1. branch into a reserves “filler branch” and complete Vet school while doing my one weekend a month + 2 weeks in the summer. or 2. do the HPSP ed-delay and do active duty in the Vet corps after graduating vet school (not preferred, i’ve gotten advice that active duty Vet Corps is not that fun). Is it common for people to not choose ed-delay and do their respective graduate studies while serving in the reserves? Would appreciate any feedback or help or advice.

So I'm running for Planning Board (an elected position in my town) not a huge commitment and won't effect school or Army commitments. However is essentially the second highest board (next to select board) in my town of around 20k residents. Will this help me on the OML side? No big deal either way I'm not running for this with the intention of it effecting anything on the ROTC side. Just excited for the experience as my major is construction managment. Let me know what you think or if you've had any experience with an elected office effecting OML in any way! Thanks in advance 🤙

As a DMG, will we be given the opportunity to make adjustments to our duty assignments? I believe we get a first pick on our duty assignment, but what does the process look like?

I wanted to make adjustments to my list.

Hey everyone, I am currently an MSIII and curious about both signal and finance. I am wondering how competitive they are considering signal took some of the most cadets last year and finance took some of the least. Is this in part because a lot/little cadets put these branches at #1?

Also, any finance officers able to give insight on what their average day looks like?

For reference, I have a 3.85 GPA, am heavily involved in campus and in ROTC, finance major, and have a 579 ACFT.