Overview of Army ROTC’s New Talent Based Branching Process

The Army has 17 different branches for Cadets to compete for. Being selected into one of the branches is the culmination of an assessment process that begins from the very first day a Cadet enters the ROTC program. Beginning with Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 the U.S. Army has implemented a new system to branch Cadets from its 274 ROTC programs across the country. The Army calls the new system Talent Based Branching.

The prior accessions process ranked all Cadets across the nation based off of factors such as their GPA, physical fitness test score, Advanced Camp performance, volunteer work, Color Guard participation, Ranger Challenge team, etc. During the beginning of their senior year, Cadets ranked in order of preference which of the 17 branches in the Army they want to assess into. The Army’s accessions process then uses the various factors mentioned to help decide which branch they will receive.

With Talent Based Branching, all these prior factors are still considered. The below FY21 chart shows the importance each of these factors has on how Cadets rank in the national Order of Merit List (OML).

Before the OML score is was what largely determined what branch a Cadet received; with Talent Based Branching, Cadets will also have the opportunity to interview with the branches they are interested in. The opportunity to interview each Cadet will allow the branches to learn more about each applicant to better inform branching decisions besides looking at an OML score. After the interview process the branches will then rank order their Cadet preferences. The below graphics show a simple explanation of how the process will work.

James ranked Aviation first. James’s file suggests an alignment with Aviation’s talent demands, plus he nailed his interview, becoming their number one choice. Because James matches Aviation, he isn’t considered for other branches.

Meanwhile, Sarah ranked Engineers first, but Engineers ranked Sarah 4th. Her file didn’t show the strongest talent alignment with Engineers, and she didn’t interview to make her case. She’s tentatively matched with Engineers while the branching process continues to run.

As we move to Rich, we see that he ranked Cyber first, and Cyber ranked Rich number one due to a strong talent alignment that his interview helped confirm. Because they are a one-to-one match, Cyber closes out and Rich isn’t considered for other branches.

Laura ranked Engineers as her first choice, and Engineers ranked Laura 2nd. She is therefore matched with Engineers because they have just one slot and find her a better talent match than Sarah.

As a result, Sarah is now considered for Aviation, her 2nd choice. Because Sarah is Aviation’s best remaining candidate, she is awarded their final slot.

Since Laura branched engineer, her first choice, this allowed Sarah to branch Aviation even though Aviation had her ranked third.

At the end of the Talent Based Branching process this how it plays out in this simple example. Remember that in the real world this accession process will involve thousands of Cadets.

Talent Based Branching is a brand new system for accessing Army ROTC Cadets that will likely see modifications as it is implemented. The ultimate goal of it will remain the same which is allowing Cadets to have more of a say in what branches they access into. At EWU Army ROTC we remain committed to informing our Cadets of all the latest information in the Talent Based Branching process. If anyone has any questions about Talent Based Branching please leave a comment below and we will do our best to answer it.

Go ROTC! Go Fighting Eags!

Comments

christian Rodgers says

02/22/2021 at 5:51 am

Hi, What are chances to get a slot to branch in aviation in the coming years, Thanks

- jstafford3 says
  
  02/22/2021 at 1:23 pm
  
  The aviation branch is the most difficult to branch into. It requires a high GPA, passing the flight physical, and scoring well of the SIFT test. The new Talent Based Branching also requires an interview with the branches you are pursuing. This interview is very important when it comes to receiving your top branch choice. If you put the work in you can attain an aviation slot. We have been getting one Cadet here every year into Aviation from EWU Army ROTC.
  
- Moody, Linda says
  
  03/02/2022 at 2:41 pm
  
  Hi Christian,
  
  Branching Aviation is determined first by a passing SIFT score, Medical Flight Physical, and competitiveness. It also comes with a minimum 10 year service obligation. Please feel free to reach out for more specifics to lmoody1@ewu.edu.
  
  Thank you,
  Linda
  
Asher Novahov says

06/02/2021 at 12:57 am

The prior accessions process ranked all Cadets across the nation based off of factors such as their GPA, physical fitness test score, Advanced Camp performance team etc. The Army’s accessions process then uses the various factors mentioned to help decide which branch they will receive. With Talent Based Branching, all these prior factors are still considered. Thanks for you awesome article.