<p>See the latest issue of Assembly, here:</p>
<p>that's very interesting, I think usually Medical corps is the most difficult and infantry is the easiest, is that true? any other branches you know that are traditionally difficult?</p>
<p>easiest and hardest as in to be assigned to that branch, not the actually branch itself</p>
<p>Aviation, medical, and MI go quickly, as I've heard. I'm not sure what goes last, but believe that they always leave spots for people that want to branch infantry.</p>
<p>are some of the branches gender bias? as in can women do a certain branch that men can not, and visa versa? i heard that women cannot branch infantry, and men can't do something..... not quite sure</p>
<p>Women can't branch infantry, armored, or field artillery. I'm not sure if men can't branch somewhere - would love to hear from someone else.</p>
<p>Although not as current, here's a better outline of the difficulty of getting the various branch assignment. It gives the number of cadets picking the branch, the rank numbers of the first and last cadet to select that branch. (The original chart is easier to read but it didn't transfer well to this post). It should be noted that the posting within a branch can be as important as the branch itself. According to this source, only infantry and armor are closed to women.</p>
<p>Branching for the Class of 2004.
Included are the rank number of the first cadet to select that branch, and the last. </p>
<p>COMBAT ARMS # of cadets , First Cadet rank, Last cadet rank</p>
<p>Air Defense 46 165 957
Armor 106 5 937
Aviation 107 3 679
Engineer 105 27 929
Field Artillery 118 29 946
Infantry 200 4 953 </p>
<p>COMBAT SUPPORT
Chemical 9 667 902
Military Intel. 90 19 726
Military Police 18 18 892
Signal 50 11 933 </p>
<p>COMBAT SERVICE SUPPORT
Adjutant General 16 167 678
Finance 7 172 790
Medical Service 10 12 256
Ordnance 17 202 921
Quartermaster 17 95 845
Transportation 19 135 894 </p>
<p>Notes: </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Infantry and Armor branches are closed to women. </p></li>
<li><p>Due to Army requirements, 70 cadets were selected for the Branch Detail Program. Officers in this program will serve 2-4 years in a "recipient" branch (Infantry, Armor, Air Defense, Artillery, Chemical, or Field Artillery) and then serve the rest of their career in their originally assigned "donor" branch (Signal, Military Intelligence, Adjutant General, Finance, Transportation, Ordnance, or Quartermaster). </p></li>
<li><p>Two cadets will become officers in the Air Force, one in the Navy, and one in the Marine Corps as part of the Inter-service Transfer Program. USMA has also nominated 18 cadets to attend Medical School. Upon completion of training, they will serve as doctors in the Medical Corps. The cadets ranked numbers one and two selected Medical Corps as their branch.</p></li>
</ol>