Overview
- The 49B area of concentration opens to eligible officers through the Volunteer Transfer Incentive Program beginning in January 2026.
- Officers selected for 49B will be reclassified by the end of fiscal year 2026, which concludes on Sept. 30, according to the Army.
- Candidates with advanced academic or technical backgrounds in AI and machine learning will be especially competitive for selection.
- Training will include graduate-level education and hands-on work building, deploying, and maintaining AI-enabled systems for operational use.
- Army officials say 49B officers will speed decision-making, improve logistics, and support robotics and autonomous systems, with potential future expansion to warrant officers and ties to broader DoD efforts such as GenAI.mil and the 2025 Robotics Technician specialty.