Branch Detail...

[Ryan]

Quick question...

Senior ROTC cadet, branched aviation, slotted for a NY guard unit... I don't yet have a date for BOLC 2/3 and from what I heard it could be quite a while due to being backed up. Is it possible to do a 'branch detail' (used for lack of a better term) and say go to a different OBC until I could get a slot for flight school?

Also,

I'm not sure 100% I'd like to stay in NY, how hard is it to move? Who says whether or not I can go? How are flight units with accepting cadets from out of state? Any other information I should know?

Thanks

Ryan

[matthew.ritchie]

What you have described is a good plan. Your branch detail will be self-directed, however. My recommendation is to talk to your aviation battalion commander, and see if you can fill a non-rated slot in your battalion. That way, you become qualified in something, but the aviation community doesn't forget about you because you're in the unit.

Please note that you must complete a BOLC within 36 months of commissioning, or face losing your commission (and paying back any financial incentives you may have received along the way).

If you move to another state, your old state will release you. Whether the new state has a need for aviatiors is a different story (I hope you don't plan on moving to Florida, because they are very overstrength in pilots). The flight school backlog has hit everyone, so moving to a new state will likely only make things worse for you in that regard.

[OSU_Scott]

( I am leaving for Guard AOCS Jan 10) Do newly commissioned Guard LTs have the option of volunteering for a branch detail program like regular army LTs? My state in an infantry state, I wouldn't mind spending my LT years as a infantry LT if I new for sure I 'd end up something on the logistics side. I would like to be MI but I know that it is a very competitive branch. Would volunteering to branch detail help me ultimately get MI?

[matthew.ritchie]

[QUOTE=OSU_Scott]( I am leaving for Guard AOCS Jan 10) Do newly commissioned Guard LTs have the option of volunteering for a branch detail program ....[/QUOTE]

We have no formal branch detail, because our personnel model works significantly differently than the active component. With the Guard, geography plays a large role in our careers. We could promise you a captain's slot in a certain branch in a few years, but what if it were in a state 1000 miles away? If you were active component, you'd move your whole family to take that position, but that's not a realistic plan if you're in the Guard. You can change branches later on, but you have the responsibility to make it happen. Keep in touch with your state's Officer Strength Manager (OSM) for guidance on where available vacancies are, and what you need to do to get one. They don't just recruit, they also work on retention.