Branching is a ridiculously difficult decision for any cadet. As a rising senior in Army ROTC combatting an admittedly limited point of view, I am conflicted. So, I tweeted a thread of thoughts to better understand my own thinking and perhaps receive some feedback. The response from #MilTwitter was fantastic.
A Signal Corps officer’s success, much like any leader, depends greatly on his or her ability to create effective teams. Bending an organization to the will of the leader stifles junior leader initiative. It fails to maximize the positive and dynamic impact of junior and senior non-commissioned officers (NCOs). These leaders, when actively engaged, create forward organizational momentum. Leaders do this by creating a family-centric team and engaging individuals on a personal level. As a young Lieutenant (1st Lt.) serving at Fort Bragg as the 519th MI BN S6, this is the greatest lesson I had the privilege of learning from my Battalion Commander. Then Lieutenant Colonel (Lt. Col.) Joshua Fulmer created a robust team that was able to push the organization into new heights by making subordinate leaders feel necessary.
My journey to becoming an officer is a little different from most. I was an enlisted Soldier, reaching the rank of Sergeant First Class before I made the decision to commission. I had numerous leaders over the course of this time that tried to encourage me to go Green to Gold, but I was dead set on becoming a Drill Sergeant (DS). At 10 years of service, my dream of becoming a DS finally became a reality in Advanced Individual Training (AIT). Shortly after arriving to DS assignment at Fort Sam Houston Texas, the Army made the decision to discontinue the DS program in AIT. So there I was, DS Washington, finally doing the one thing I had dreamed of since joining the military, and it was getting stripped away from me!
Congratulations, you have been selected to serve in the Chemical Branch. That is great news for leaders with science degrees that listed the Chemical Corps in their top preferred branches. To Bachelors of Arts leaders, getting this news can be intimidating. Newly selected Chemical officers will immediately reflect back to how they felt after their last mask-confidence (“gas”) chamber or after their last chemistry exam. But, fear not! There is good news. There is a lot more leadership than science when becoming the X Factor for your unit.
There is a misconception about “Military Intelligence” (MI) by those outside the military. They often imagine a scene from a spy movie. Instead of picturing the action-packed climax of a spy movie, rewind to where the field agent receives the mission brief. In addition to the agent, there is usually a reliable handler, know-it-all analyst, and aggressive chief. Don’t be fooled! An MI Officer can be any of these roles, but most often would be the know-it-all analyst. Being MI means that you utilize all intelligence assets to provide an assessment that guides action to achieve an objective. These skills allow you to save lives and be relevant at any scale. If you want a career that is purposeful, pivotal, and challenging, MI is the right choice for you.
What do you want to be when you grow up? This August will be my 15th year of service and I still do not know the answer to that question. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, mind you. If I terminate service now, in addition to leadership experience, I’ll have a heavily padded resume that rivals those of my infantry brethren. Perhaps, you are unsure of where your life will be in 20 years? Choosing a branch that offers training beneficial in the civilian workforce may be an indicator that you possess the traits necessary to plan for contingencies. If this is the case, you are what the Logistics Corps needs.
Back and forth, I paced the floor of my dorm room at Boston College. I was a senior and facing down branching. Finally, when the phone call came in, I was overwhelmed with joy. I was going to be a part of the greatest branch in the Army. Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a police officer. Then when September 11, 2001 happened, my dreams shifted towards something larger. I still loved law enforcement, but I wanted to serve in the military as well. What separates the Military Police from every other branch is that we serve those who chose to serve. We embody our motto, “Of the Troops, For the Troops”. Military Police enable other units’ commanders to conduct their missions. We preserve their fighting force and secure their installations or other critical areas.
There are few things more exciting, more freeing, and more attractive to humans than man-made flight. Many Soldiers have walked the broken ground of combat and looked to the sky. With a mixture of envy and anticipation, they search the horizon for their Chinook ride home, their Blackhawk MEDEVAC, or their Apache close-combat attack support. What does it take to be an Aviation lieutenant? The Aviation community expects its leaders to stay humble, maintain self-awareness, and identify metrics for success. Although these three components do not underpin all of the factors that the Aviation community expects from its young leaders, they do represent key themes that ultimately stress perhaps the best piece of advice I can give: LISTEN AND TALK TO YOUR SOLDIERS. Here is what your future Soldiers want you to know.
Everyone that was of age in 2001 has their “9/11 Story”. Mine took place while attending the West Point Prep School, back when it was located on Fort Monmouth, NJ, just across the Hudson River from New York City. I wasn’t even an actual cadet yet, but a “cadet candidate” as we were called as prep students. “Cadet” was a title reserved for actual West Point students. I was just 18 years old with a brand new cell phone; a Sprint flip-phone that was state of the art! If only then I knew the kind of technology and mission I would have years later as a leader in the Army’s Air Defense Artillery Branch.
