OCS and NIOBC

[seannewman0]

I graduated OCS this most recent March and am in the midst of the Intel Basic Course. I used this website as a resource before I began my journey and I know it's helpful for those planning their future. So if any prospective INTEL has any questions about the selection process, OCS or specifically the follow on schooling for INTEL feel free to post and I might be able to help.

 

[Scaevola]

Hi Sean, thanks for offering to demystify the post-OCS world for intel prospectives. I'm applying for the fall 2013 IDC board with intel as my primary designator and was hoping you might be able to clear up a few things:

- How frequently do NIOBCs start, and how long did you need to wait to get a class?
- Between OCS and your PCS to Norfolk, did you have any temporary assignment options besides working for your home NRD?
- Do most people actually move all their wordly possessions to VA for just 5 months?
- What is the daily work load between classes, studying, networking, other events needed to be successful?
- If I brought my family with me, would I even have time to see them, or am I better off going alone?

Thanks again and looking forward to reading your response!

 

[seannewman0]

Good luck on the application. Intel can be very difficult to be accepted for. Recently they had a bit of an ensign shortfall and have been taking more applicants than normal but that will close up fast if the past repeats itself.

Your questions:
- NIOBC has a new class onboard about every 6 weeks of about 25 or less people. I had to wait about a month, others in my OCS class (Mar29) have had to wait a bit longer as they were given the class following mine. I did OHARP for a month. They do not do stash duty so if you are waiting, you will likely be doing OHARP.

- See above.

- Yes, move your things here. For your next move, you can then very easily have the movers come and relocate your things elsewhere. Otherwise you will have your possessions split into two places come time for your next PCS. Then again I don't have a lot of possessions so I guess my view here would be different than someone with a family and a more established home setting.

- Of course bring your family, its not like OCS. You get weekends, you live off base. Basically the course is 0800 -1600, sometimes a little bit earlier on good days. That being said the middle part of the program becomes time intensive (our class is approaching this period) for a time and your day will be more like 0700 - 1700 and then back in the evening 1900-2200 and then back again on weekends.

The base is nice and set on the beach. Lots of decent places to live, very family friendly. As I understand they are also good about giving you time at the end of the course to get your things squared away for your follow on operation tour which you will know by week 9ish.
First things first though. I had to wait over a year and a half between getting accepted and going to OCS. And OCS is a beast of its own, so you have some hurdles to move over before you get here. Good luck though, I love what I am doing, it was well worth the effort.

 

[Scaevola]

Thanks for the info! I'm certainly aware of the many challenges ahead of me at OCS, if I should even be so lucky to get a pro-rec. But, while there are countless posts here and on the OCS forum about submitting a good package, what to bring and what to expect, etc etc, there's precious little about NIOBC and generally what comes next in the intel pipeline. I'm just the type of person who likes to have a sense for what's coming over the horizon, so I really appreciate you taking the time to swing back through the forums post-OCS and help out wannabes like me.

Good luck with the rest of course!

 

[LET73]

I'm pleased to see someone currently going through NIOBC posting here. I went through 5+ years ago, so although I'm happy to answer questions, I know my gouge might be a little out of date.

Scaevola (and others), one thing I would add is that NIOBC is as long as it is in part so that people can PCS to Va. Beach and bring families. I don't believe it's five months' worth of information, but then again that's just me. Either way, you get plenty of free time, despite some long days, and the networking with your classmates happens without even really thinking about it. That's another reason for NIOBC. You'll forget a lot of what you learn there (and relearn it on the job where you get to put it all in context), but the real value is the connections you make with your peers in the intel community. Five years out, I'm still grateful for the connections I made there.

 

[LFCFan]

I was hoping I could get some clarification: How does the first tour assignment work? Another thread from a while back seemed to say that you do your dream sheet as basically overseas, east, or west coast. Can it be broken down further than that, like by station, ship vs squadron vs expeditionary force, etc?

 

[LET73]

I was hoping I could get some clarification: How does the first tour assignment work? Another thread from a while back seemed to say that you do your dream sheet as basically overseas, east, or west coast. Can it be broken down further than that, like by station, ship vs squadron vs expeditionary force, etc?

Yes, you also list the type of duty you would prefer. Then the detailer tries to line up your priorities with what's available.

Of course, sometimes an entire class just ends up at ONI. It all depends.

 

[seannewman0]

Great question, I was always curious about this as well. We are expecting our billet list any day now.

Our class and the class prior to ours did not and will not work directly with the detailer. The detailer will create a billet list based on open positions and number of officers. Supposedly positions are then given based on class rank as well as prior service. For example a non prior Ensign is very unlikely to get an expeditionary slot.

An example of the process would be: a class has 10 people so the detailer will issue 10 open positions. The officers will rank location and job type based on their preferences. A few weeks later, after the magic formula described above, positions are distributed. Some people really like what they are issued, others not so much. Long story short you have a say in the matter but that is balanced with other factors. Billet lists can change dramatically from class to class but as a rule squadron positions are the most numerous.

 

[LFCFan]

Supposedly positions are then given based on class rank as well as prior service. For example a non prior Ensign is very unlikely to get an expeditionary slot.

Hmm...not a prior and was kind of hoping I could do some work on the exped/specwar side (Yeah I know that those are a small number of billets and I'm totally fine working in aviation). Is it because those communities don't like boot-ass O-1s or because those billets are highly sought after and thus the non-priors/lat transfers are at a disadvantage to get them from the start?

 

[LET73]

Hmm...not a prior and was kind of hoping I could do some work on the exped/specwar side (Yeah I know that those are a small number of billets and I'm totally fine working in aviation). Is it because those communities don't like boot-ass O-1s or because those billets are highly sought after and thus the non-priors/lat transfers are at a disadvantage to get them from the start?

Both. In general, they like to have people with some experience in those jobs, and on the specwar side in particular, it's all about networking and finding out about billets through word of mouth. That's not to say it can't happen, since a couple of people from my class did get assigned to expeditionary commands as brand new ensigns, but the odds aren't in your favor. I'd say, go ahead and list expeditionary as your first choice. You might get lucky, or you might end up with your second or third choice. It's not a bad thing to go into that kind of job with some experience.

 

[navyscooter]

Hi all. My name is Scott and I recently received a commission in the USNR to become an Intel Officer (designator 1835) through the DCO program. I'm now affiliated with JIOCSOUTH 0174. Could you please let me know if it's possible for me to do the 5-month AD NIOBC program instead of completing the course on weekends for 18 months? If so, is it something that's relatively easy to do or is there a long wait list?

Thanks ahead of time for any insight you can provide.

 

[LFCFan]

An example of the process would be: a class has 10 people so the detailer will issue 10 open positions. The officers will rank location and job type based on their preferences. A few weeks later, after the magic formula described above, positions are distributed. Some people really like what they are issued, others not so much. Long story short you have a say in the matter but that is balanced with other factors. Billet lists can change dramatically from class to class but as a rule squadron positions are the most numerous.

Cool, so getting to see the billet list means that you know not to put west coast if all the billets are at Lemoore? Or do you mean that you get to rank each billet vice ranking location and duty type?

 

[LFCFan]

Just to clarify: I've been told that we will be given a list of actual billets (vice listing type, coast, etc) and then get to rank where we want to go and then are given assignments based on factors previously explained in this thread. So we need not worry as much about saying "west coast" hoping to get SD or W Island and ending up in Lemoore or something.

 

[seannewman0]

Hi all. My name is Scott and I recently received a commission in the USNR to become an Intel Officer (designator 1835) through the DCO program. I'm now affiliated with JIOCSOUTH 0174. Could you please let me know if it's possible for me to do the 5-month AD NIOBC program instead of completing the course on weekends for 18 months? If so, is it something that's relativel y easy to do or is there a long wait list?

- In my NIOBC class we had reservist taking the 5 month class versus the weekends.

- Regarding the billet list: The detailer creates a list of open billets available at the time, you put your preferences in order based on location or job type and the staff looks at ranking as well as other circumstances and you are assigned a billet.

 

[DDE1990]

Hey does anyone know what the wait times are like if one was to get picked up for an intel slot right now? My package will be going to board (hopefully) on 2 Dec 2013, and I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of when that could result in an OCS date. I've heard anything from 3 months to the poor SOB that created this thread's year and a half. My OSO told me about 2 months ago that the number of intel boards this year has been doubled, but does that just mean they're lining up more people without more NIOBC classes, or did the whole program get bolstered?

Cheers