Community for current, future, and past members of the US Air Force. No matter what anybody tells you the recruiter WILL lie to you to make his numbers. Cookies help us deliver our Services. Thanks. Oh also, yeah you're correct about us being an "older" group of folks. Join. Yes, am a US citizen! Posts go in the Megathread. While I am fairly confident about applying to officer after some time working on the flightline and developing myself as an Airman, my questions are these... How does applying for the specific officer jobs work, and what influences their decisions in selecting you? I apologize for starting another thread on this but I searched and didn’t see anything that applied to someone in my distinct situation. I stay up-to-date with news (Reddit makes this easy! Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. State Dept, FBI, CIA, counter-intel, grad school? Discussion; Question; r/airforceots Rules. Also, it is essential to protect our data to ensure it stays in the right hands. I'd cross post this over a r/army. No Test Compromise. And while tactical Intel in garrison is pretty boring, when deployed is the most rewarding job cause if you're good everyone wants your opinion. If anything, logistics jobs give you some nice opportunities to link up with foreign entities/lots of deployments. It doesn't necessarily have to be one of the three I mentioned above. linguists are generally older. Good luck! They're often called the Jack of all Trades for Intelligence AFSCs. I was 24 when I went to BCT and was 26 when I graduated from DLI. No Memes Buy r/airforce patch. you seem to have a good handle on the training. IMINT, ELINT, HUMINT etc...)? In basic, I’m expecting to be surrounded by a bunch of younger kids who are very unlike me, but once I specialize in MI, what can I expect from the people there? This is completely untrue. My parents both emigrated as refugees from Iran in the early 80s, and I was born in the US not long after. 6. When I ask my AF friends if they're reenlisting, they never hesitate to say yes. Overall the training and the job of a Military Intelligence Officer is similar to Intelligence Officers in other Intelligence Agencies (in fact there’s sometimes significant overlap). hope going to be analyzing where enemy units will be on a battlefield and spend a lot of time analyzing "fake" battles in exercises. ), I know more than most, and could carry a decent and relatively neutral conversation about most topics, especially those relating to Israel and/or Iran. Whatever you choose do what is right for you! I'm just looking for what people have to say about not only getting yourself as an officer, but a specific job as one. Just secret squirrel instead. Basically, you do things for people. Intelligence contracts will generally be 3-4 years for the SECRET level, 5-6 for the TOP SECRET level. Agencies of interest: CIA, FSB, KGB, Stasi, Mossad, NSA, NRO, FBI, GCHQ, ASIS, Military Intelligence, Five Eyes, Snowden, Wikileaks, theShadowBrokers, ICIJ, Panama Papers, Paradise Papers, Cambridge Analytica, Palantir, Geopolitics, etc. i do know that training, however long it may be, is generally NOT part of your contracted time, especially MI where training time is particularly long (6 months - 2 years) Linguists usually get a pretty nice signing bonus. I feel as though I really WANT to be in the intel field. Depending on what you were involved in there are countless alphabet agencies that will hire you after you get out to work all over the country. United States Air Force Reddit r/ AirForce. I know that in many respects this is a desk job, but I’d like to know which ones minimize the “desk job” aspect. Once my contract is up, what would my options be? What I mean by this is so I sign my contract, get shipped off to basic, then begin AIT, then DLI, then what? I graduated from a Scottish university in history and international relations, with the former specialized in subjects that compliment the latter. 5.How does the Army actually work structurally? You are selected to be an officer first and foremost. These two jobs are the only ones I saw going outside the wire regularly. If I contract through ROTC, am I likely to get intel? When you get done training things relax, nobody will really get in your face unless you fuck up and it will be more like a regular job but with a uniform. I’m not sure if I’ve romanticized it to a certain point, but that’s why I’m here posting on Reddit, to gain others’ perspectives. If you are looking for blood, guts, sex and danger your best bet is to go infantry, then go to SF selection and try to get into the Rangers/Army Special Forces, and if you are so inclined there are other spooky units that will not be named that conduct intelligence operations who farm from the more traditional SF units. I loved my time in the army though, so if you're okay with all that I say go for it. They then do other things with the things you did for them. Edit : for what it's worth, I was essentially a 35N and I loved it. I guess Im asking, if I want to be a pog is it likely to get pushed to combat? I just simply ignored them!). Don't give up hope completely, Monterey is very nice and there are always those special duties/deployments I mentioned. Now I work in flightline avionics, extremely far removed from my academic background. One more thing...your SF-86 is going to be a bitch because of your foreign relatives and extensive travel outside the US, have fun with that! Thank you for reading this long post. So that is my advice to you. I'm a linguist. Most Intel guys in the military don't write about political leaders, don't go do any sort of collecting outside combat operations, and often when not deployed find themselves doing additional duties that don't have anything to do with even tactical intel...let alone the Jack Ryan stuff they think they're going to do. The Golden Rule. Born overseas to a US parent! Things like what they actually do, no vague description like you find on the Air Force website. Unless you get into collections, even HUMINT will be report writing most of the time. As long as your references are thorough you will have no problem securing your clearance. I was highly arrogant at the time, perhaps as a product of being in the ivory tower of uni, and these factors contributed to my failure in the linguist program. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Army linguists in the intel field (35P, not 09L Interopreter) generally sit behind desks. Things like what they actually do, no vague description like you find on the Air Force website. "What Are My Chances?" Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. p.p.s. As corny as it sounds to some, I really do want to serve and protect American interests abroad. The mix is different between the platforms and the missions are constantly changing. You will be following a set program. There was a guy I went to BMT with who had a harder time getting his clearance than a 2nd generation Pakistani, because he had 2 speeding tickets misdated. You also said that you cam in enlisted with a degree and regret it regularly, is that because if you start as an officer you have more advantages than an if you were enlisted? 1. I do not have a degree (stupid, stupid, stupid) and I went in out of HS with no real work experience. Posts Mental Health Help. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. Call it the romanticism of it. Just my .02c. Do not fall for the high-speed propaganda they put in those recruitment videos. Based on the information about me that I’ve given you, which branch and MOS would you recommend? 3. if you do well enough on your language test you MIGHT be able to skip DLI and go straight to MOS training (systems, SOPs, etc). You might get more help if you ask specific questions. FWIW... one of my Intel Officers back in the day (69-72) had a music degree. Hello, first, let me give you a quick rundown of my background and experience, I just got out of the Air Force this past fall after doing 8 years in the intelligence field. What are you actually wanting to do (eg. In basic, I’m expecting to be surrounded by a bunch of younger kids who are very unlike me, but once I specialize in MI, what can I expect from the people there? I look forward to any answer you guys might be able to give. AFPC just plugs the selectees into available jobs at that time. Online. For the sake of OPSEC and such I can't and won't go into specifics but I got a chance to work both SIGINT and IMINT/GEOINT by cross training AFSCs. The site may not work properly if you don't, If you do not update your browser, we suggest you visit, Press J to jump to the feed. I’m physically in good shape, with a sub 7-minute mile and 225/265/365 B/SQ/DL. He's asking a legit question, stop shooting him down. Is the path I take up to me, or am I following a set program? From my experience the Army is big on customs and courtesies and the stereotypical military image, where us AF guys tend to be on a first name basis with most people under the SNCO tier. What all does basic entail? AIR FORCE. They want to get their value out of you. I urge caution though, that shit is not all it is cracked up to be and it will get old FAST unless your one of those special guys who truly love it. Because unless you're at a super chill strategic MI unit, you will not necessarily be surrounded by the "MI professionals" that you hold in such high esteem. 4. Welcome to the United States Air Force. I’m under the impression that officers are the ones directing the people who are doing the dirty work, not out in the field themselves. Many of my friends came back to work at the same units/bases they separated from as civilian contractors! Enlisted FAQ Officer FAQ Job Descriptions Common Acronyms. After seeing mostly saggy old ladies on the beaches of Monterey and getting a world of warcraft account I quickly realized that my new home was at a desk, and real intel was paperwork and powerpoints. Filter by flair. Like flying fighter jets, right? You will usually spend MUCH more time writing reports about what you collected than the time you spent collecting in any intel field. For the sake of OPSEC and such I can't and won't go into specifics but I got a chance to work both SIGINT and IMINT/GEOINT by cross training AFSCs. Of course, you can say it's like that with any management position, you're just dealing with people. Again, not Army but basic will be lots of yelling and fucking up and PT, and AIT/tech school will be less yelling and PT but about the same amount of people fucking up and acting like idiots. Military Intelligence Officers are subject matter experts in the ‘red force’, and expected to have an intimate understanding of the enemy including their tactics, weapons and activities. 3.Once my contract is up, what would my options be? I.e. Bottom line: Job selection is entirely a crapshoot. all those options, plus NSA, will be available to you after 4+ years working with a clearance. I'm on the enlisted side of intel and vague is pretty much all your gonna get. Based on your desire to work "outside the wire" I would say Army, but during my time with the AF I got the opportunity to go out on plenty of ops by snagging special duty assignments and being selected for special deployments with units that were looking for augmentees. army MI is more fun (parties more) than the other services. linguists that speak Farsi will have no problem working outside the wire, if thats what you want. As it is, I'd just apply to OTS with any non-tech job in mind and then cross over later. I now have the opportunity to develop myself as a worker after years of being a do-nothing essayist. Absolutely do not join the Army. Anything else I might have missed and should know? We also have theater level leadership to answer to and the downrange customers to please. 5.7k. Press J to jump to the feed. Info on Joining USAF . I feel as if working on fighter jets is as Air Force as it gets in the enlisted field, so the chance to develop a 'military work ethic' is definitely there. signing bonuses are based on MOS/AFSC and how undermanned the career field is. I think I got what I need for now from this thread and another, thanks! Hope that helps! It's more in-line with the type of work you'd actually want to do within intelligence. An Intelligence officer must analyze data and determine threats to have a full understanding of the enemy and their vulnerabilities.