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NIOBC and such

Okie3

OCS NAMI CASUALTY=INTEL..I'll take it.
Heading to Dam Neck at the end of the month. Heard we find out where we go next around week 7 through week 10 of NIOBC. I emailed my detailer and pretty much understand the squadron vs. ships company. I'm shooting for squadron. Seen the breakdown powerpoint piechart...looks like a good chance.

Hoping for TACAMO (family lives 45 minutes from Tinker), any VP squadron, or anything west coast great. I realize everything is off the needs of the Navy, but are chances pretty good for an ensign to get squadron for first tour. Looking for other intel O's experiences with the selection process at NIOBC. Sounds like a what percent get jets post...(navy said I can't jockey jets..they think I have "hypothyroidism" found at OCS)

Now I'm just looking for best family life area. My wife and I have horses. I rope and still want to rodeo some day when I get time while in the Navy...Fully EXPECT to be worked like a dog as a new ensign though. Just looking for any advice for NIOBC..not much info out there about it.
 
How did they find out you had hyperthyroidism?
If you don't me picking your mind as someone who will hopefully be at the same stage someday:
Squadron versus ship... Difference in what your tasked with? And why is one perhaps better than the other?
 

Okie3

OCS NAMI CASUALTY=INTEL..I'll take it.
The hypothyroidism was found from certain levels called TSH from blood tests. I don't show physical symptoms at all. Navy aviation medicine thinks I have hyperthyroidism because my level isn't where they want it for pilots and nfo. I had another doc say a civilian doc would just call me normal.

Anyway yeah from reading on AW ships company sounds like you're an intel/SWO to me. I'm hoping for a land based squadron, but if I have to go to a ship I'd rather go only when the squadron goes.

Options from my detailers email: "Squadrons, Fleet Intel detachments, ships company, and occasionally, an Expeditionary comand or large intel center."

LARGELY OFF NEEDS of the NAVY like everything else of course.

Initial operational tour 24-36 months.
 

Renegade One

Well-Known Member
None
I hope some current Intel folks with the "more current" answers might wade in for you on the basic question. From the "Peanut Gallery", however, I will opine that life in an aviation squadron can be pretty sublime.

Think "Band of Brothers"...and disregard the gender implications of the phrase. You'll be loved, teased, tortured, belittled, given a coffee cup with your name on it, probably a flight jacket, a flight suit and a name tag, given a "call sign" that you may hate...or may want to carry with you for the rest of your time in the Navy, be made "Mr. Vice" at a Dining-In/Out, get some orientation flights (depending on the T/M/S of the squadron)...and you will make an incredible difference.

May be different in communities I'm not familiar with, but in CV-based squadrons...you will be "the guy". 1 of only 1. (May be different now...). Your squadron mates will give you crap all day and every day until it's time for you to stand up and brief "your part". No one else in the squadron will know "your stuff" as well as you. They will know that. They will try to debrief with YOU afterwards...and you learning and knowing what's most important to them on each mission will make you better every day.

Congrats...good luck at Dam neck...welcome to the profession, whichever way you decide to go.:)
 

BusyBee604

St. Francis/Hugh Hefner Combo!
pilot
Super Moderator
Contributor
No one else in the squadron will know "your stuff" as well as you. They will know that. They will try to debrief with YOU afterwards...and you learning and knowing what's most important to them on each mission will make you better every day.

Amen, and in a combat scenario, regardless of your JO rank, your pre-mission briefs/debriefs WILL receive the undivided attention of the flight crews, unlike other 'standard' boring mandatory lectures. You'll never find any of your audience inattentive or asleep, as often, their very survival will hang on the intel you provide. :eek:

As you gain intel/briefing experience & proficiency, you may occasionally be tapped by CAG, to brief/debrief an entire airwing Alpha strike package, an awesome responsibility (and a show of confidence in your AI skills)!:)

Personally, I will NEVER forget LT Steve Hanzlik, our "CAG-14 AI Briefer" on our '67 CONNIE adventure... known fondly as "Uncle Hans", he was highly respected for his professional, informative presentations, and as the head 'cheerleader' for his flight crews.;)
BzB
 

LET73

Well-Known Member
NIOBC is about a month's worth of useful/interesting coursework stretched out over five/months. You will learn most of what you need to know on the job. I'm not knocking NIOBC or the instructors; they are doing their best to give a broad overview of what it means to be in naval intelligence to people who are by and large unfamiliar with it, and who will only be looking at one particular facet of it when they move on to their next assignments. It's a lot of death by powerpoint, some rote memorization, a little bit of briefing--basically like a college course where you can't take your homework home with you. You're basically in class all day, usually with a reasonable break for lunch, and sometimes class gets out early. There's no real advice besides pay attention and remember that what you're learning will probably be relevant at some point, whether it's in your next assignment or later on. Virginia Beach can be a fun place (better than Norfolk).

As far as your next set of orders, you'll fill out a dream sheet listing type of assignment and location you prefer, hand it in, and the detailer will work it out from there. Good luck!
 

Okie3

OCS NAMI CASUALTY=INTEL..I'll take it.
An IW Ensign rolled into our recruiting office today for OHARP also. Has 10 years in the Navy as an IT. He has been with TACAMO. He said in TACAMO your also "the guy". So not much must be different.

I was on track to coach basketball/teach, or work on horse ranches the rest of my life before I thought about the Navy. I look at this job like scouting, and giving the team the pre&post-game talk about the mission. Know who the bad guys are, know what they have to hurt us, where they are at, tendencies, weaknesses, strengths,. Know the same for ourselves also.

I get the feeling I need to be "cultured...fied" also about different places we are heading to. The IW mentioned that part (knowing good/bad) parts of towns.

Thanks for the information. Any little bit helps.
 

TrunkMonkey

Spy Navy
I went through NIOBC 5+ years ago, so my info is no longer current. If you're still interested, check out my answers in "Ensign Lucy Locations" thread in this forum for my thoughts on locations.
BLUF: I would say that your chances are excellent to get a squadron. I listed West Coast dead last on my "dream sheet" to avoid going to Lemoore, which I had previously visited and hated, and still ended up on the West Coast, although not there.

For what you are describing in terms of liking rodeo, being married, etc. you may even enjoy Lemoore. Also, during my sea tour, I was gone 267 days out of 2007-2008. So, depending on how your schedule works out, it may not actually matter very much where you are home-ported.
 

gotta_fly

Well-Known Member
pilot
I'm pretty sure TACAMO only has one Intel O, and he's part of the wing not the squadrons.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk 2
 

Shpion1

Member
Contributor
Okie, my info is a little dated since my NIOBC was a long time ago and I retired 6 years ago but still work in the field. NIOBC was (and likely is) a lot of memorization and learning too much stuff, kind of the fire hose effect. Absorb as much as you can. YMMV, but in my case, over my career I've used just about everything I've covered there including ranges and types of missiles on Soviet Boomers that were decommissioned by the time I was learning them. come up with mneumonics for the ranges and guidance and whatever else and you'll never forget them, 20plus years later, Iit still works for me. Nonetheless, pay attention and be in receive mode and don't blow it off. In intel your reputation preceeds you and it starts in NIOBC, and will stay with you the duration.

As far as selection, do your best to get to the top of the class and like everywhere else, you'll get your pick. There are plenty of instructors there you can also get gouge on different types of duties. My choices would be CV Squadron, CV Squadron, CV Squadron, P3/8, JIOC, Boat. Carrier based squadrons are THE MOST FUN, you'll learn a lot about operations, combat support, and if you have a great squadron and they like your product, may let you get the training to fly once in a while (depending on platform), SERE and other schools. And did I mention FUN, but also a lot of work, especially when at sea. Trunk Monkey mentioned how many days she was gone in one year. My last crusie in 98, I was gone around the same timeframe when including workups and deployment, maybe a little longer. In my career my CV based sqn was the best most fun tour, and the guys in that squadron are still my best friends, more so than a lot of other Intel types. P3/8. I did two tours with P3s and worked the CONOPS and other stuff for P-8. Awesome platforms and missions, they've been busy over the last decade and will maybe do a little less overland ISR in the coming decade but with the pivot to the Pacific (read the Jan 12 Defense priorities for the 21st Century), a lot of skills like ASW and others which have atrophied over the last couple decades will become increasingly "de rigeur" and will need emphasis. ASW and these missions are fun, and Autec if you ever get there is not all that bad, at least wasn years back. Both places, you'll likely be 1 of 1 for FITREPS, your skipper may or may not give you a verbal ranking on the back page, or if you're freaking awesome and really stand out, CAG may write you a special fitrep at the end of the cruise and break you out amongst the other wieenies. (I consider myself lucky, did 4 aviation tours, and would have done more if they'd have let me)

JIOCs, the old JICs, Joint Intel Centers...if you want to get smart on "intel" and the backroom operations and higher level intel, this is the place to go. Not a bad place as a first tour, you'll learn a lot, and be that much more relevant in a squadron/sea duty later on because you'll actually have contacts and know EXACTLY where and what to leverage to get what your guys/gals need to do the mission and get back in one piece. JIOCs also involve relatively long hours and shift work. There, you'll also get a chance to "break out" amongst your peers, although rank among Ensigns is like Rank in a Whore house! There isn't any. Much better to get there as a LT and get the breakout which will help with LCDR, but take it either way, just wouldn't be my priority.

Boat tour...would be my last choice, UNLESS you're a systems geek who gets off on IT Architecture or intend to get out in a couple of years. what the boat will provide that will be different than squadrons is a "leadership" opportunity, leading either OZ or another division of a whole bunch of ISs, many who will be smarter and more experienced than you but are awesome and will watch out for you if you watch out for them first. Boat also involves a whole bunch of other "crap" such as at sea periods when the airwing is not onboard, various watches etc. BUT, the level of knowledge you'll have especially if you are the systems guy will be unmatched. Youll also work long hours, and be gone a lot, and God help if you have a "yard" period sometime in there. If you are considering a boat or there are boats on your selection list at NIOBC, FIND OUT THE SCHEDULES for all of them, so you know when in the tempo you are joining the boat.

Regarding "best family life", every place you'll go you should expect to put in more than 8hrs a day and work hard. That is if you want to succeed. As a brand new ENS, you'll need to prove yourself to your squdron mates and shipmates. I used to read the MCM 3-1 for fun, some thought it was "weird" but my aviator "clients" loved it when I could back up what I was saying. There's a saying that I like, "Flower wherever you're planted". Basically do your best wherever you end up. I can almost guarantee that you'll like it by the time you leave and it will be a good experience. My first tour was supporting all the HSL squadrons in Mayport FL.. THE LAST PLACE I WANTED TO GO. But, it ended up being awesome, lots of good work including the start of Armed Helo, Penguin, Hellfire, FLIR etc, and I get a little "tingle up my leg" whenever I see the new Romeos, with racks on either side. Flying was also awesome and the friends the same.

Regarding the horses, it may be dififuclt in some areas, and you may not have the time or resources to take care of the horses in some locations so there's that to consider. Pickle on the board I believe has horses and has made that work in some fashion or another.

either way, regardless of where you end up, do your job, do it well, have a thick skin and make sure your call sign does not become "billy bum gouge" (Real CS for intel guy)

good luck.
 

Shpion1

Member
Contributor
forgot one other atribute of CV squadron tours, and it may be just applicable to my situation but others may chime in if it differs in their experience. From my last carrier squadron based tour, I can think of multiple flags who I knew as CAPT/CDRs including the current VCJCS, several 2 stars and others. From my Helo tour - none, VP-2, VQ none. Intel tours, Pentagon tours are a whole different ball of wax, plenty of flags and flags in development running all over the place.

BUT, and this is a bit BUT, no-one in Intel gets into the community with plans on making flag and actually makes it. Making Flag in Intel is a matter of luck, and more than anything, riding somebody elses coattails, that one operator who trusts you and depends on you and takes you for a ride on his/her ascent. Timing also has to work out but it's not necessarily an issue of being good or even an awesome intel professional. Looking at the list of former DNIs, as you get to learn the community, you'll understand better. Not saying that necesarily a cv squadron will lead to DNI, but, if you're noticed for the right reasons, there are a lot of guys and gals on the upward trend who it may be useful to know and know of.

PS, making flag also requires playing quite a bit of politics and other nefarious skills necessary to play the game. I didn't like the game and did tours that were fun and rewarding and with my prior E time I was pretty much bullet proof and retired as a hinge with my JOPA patch on the inside lining of my green jacket. It worked for me and may not work for others, have to apply own circumstances.
 

Okie3

OCS NAMI CASUALTY=INTEL..I'll take it.
Thank you for the information Shpion....I'm definately going to be open to anything, but boat tour is probably still last on my list.

Just got to Virginia Beach about an hour ago. No room at Navy Lodge so we had to stay off base for the night on Pacific Avenue...picking key up for house by/on Oceana....Hoping to not be blown away by this tropical storm thats supposibly going to blow in start of next week. We're used to tornados so a little water added shouldn't be to bad. Trying to get familiar with the area. Went on Dam Neck and by the Oceana main gate.
 

Okie3

OCS NAMI CASUALTY=INTEL..I'll take it.
Got to put together our dream sheets today for billets....5 billets for 5 ensigns. The rest of the class are LTJGs that knew where they were going already..."DC". They're former SWOs and one former winged pilot from an FRS which suprised me..decided to fly a computer?!?!?

NOT A SQUADRON ONE on the list of billets...which is funny because the whole time it sounded like it was the easiest to get.

But one real aviation related billet is available...if all goes as planned I'm heading to a place in the middle of nowhere with not a lot of water around. It's decent country for a cowboy too so thats good.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
........one former winged pilot from an FRS which suprised me..decided to fly a computer?!?!?

Probably not his choice.

But one real aviation related billet is available...if all goes as planned I'm heading to a place in the middle of nowhere with not a lot of water around. It's decent country for a cowboy too so thats good.

CONUS or overseas?
 
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