<p>Has anyone else heard about this option for branch selection? Here is an excerpt from the Times Herald-Record newspaper on November 09, 2008 titled "A life-changing night for West Point's senior cadets" (the address link is below).</p>
<p>"Still, when the time came in October for seniors to rank their preferences, Weidel put infantry at the top. So did 246 classmates. Forty-six percent of West Point's 988 seniors ranked infantry in their top three. Only 200 would get it.</p>
<p>The Department of the Army deals West Point a limited number of job openings per branch, based on the military's needs. The positions are filled first-come, first-served, according to class rank.</p>
<p>But there's a catch. Since 2005, the Army has reserved 25 percent of the openings in each branch for cadets willing to serve an extra three years of active duty. (Everyone owes a minimum of five years.)</p>
<p>Because cadets don't know what their classmates have chosen until branch night, those in the middle have a hard time deciding if extra years are worth it."</p>
<p>Has anyone's cadet chosen this option? Do you have any idea how popular it is? I wonder is the cadet only obligated to serve the extra 3 years if they are assigned their first choice?</p>
<p>It takes a while to get through it and has lots of military jargon but is very interesting.</p>
<p>This year 169 out of 988 USMA cadets chose ADSO to get the branch of their choice. Including 50 cadets who chose to serve 8 years active duty to branch infantry.</p>
<p>Willingness to extend applies to all branches except for Aviation. If you are willing to extend your ADSO for a branch and do not get that branch then you are not obligated to extend your service. However, you still can use it for the post of your choice or graduate school.</p>
<p>Yes, I have heard of it. We had a presentation about branch night at one of our West Point parent's club meetings. They covered this option under the "Service Incentive Program/Active Duty Service Obligation" (abbreviation: ADSO).</p>
<p>For an extra 3 years active duty a cadet can choose:
-Initial post of choice (PADSO)
-Branch of choice (BRADSO)
-Graduate school (GRADSO)</p>
<p>Hey - thanks! This is the 2008 program and some criteria have changed.
Cadets can now branch for service in Aviation.
The ADSO program has also been extended and cadets may choose two out of three options and serve the time concurrently (ouch - that sounds like a prison sentence!)
In other words, a cadet can extend service for branch AND post or branch AND grad school or Post of choice and grad school.
Cool stuff!</p>
<p>Also - as you can see the program changes from year to year. The program is in place to serve the needs of the Army - although it is a win-win, and can be revoked in any given year.
Who knows if it will be in effect or what it will look like in 2012 or 2013.</p>
<p>Think long and hard about this before you commit to it. This program was poorly explained to me so I signed up for it only to realize a few months after commissioning that I signed on to more than I thought. I got stuck with Aviation. It is not what I expected, but I am stuck with it for 11 years. That is a long time to be stuck doing something you don’t enjoy. Be careful!</p>