Intel Officer And Washington D.C. Placement / Career Sea Shore Rotation

[Jackrat]

I am interested in submiting a STA-21 package for intel officer and extremely curious on what are my chances of finishing up the rest of my career in the Navy (20 years) in Washington D.C. ? I really love the area and would have about 12 years left until retirement after putting on butter bars.

Also what is the typical career path of an intel officer? As far as how much control do they have on where they get placed taking in consideration rank. Are they still bound to sea shore rotations at higher ranks?

 

[joshmf]

There are some excellent earlier threads on this subject, I'd recommend reading through this one:

http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=14273

to hear what current Intel officers think about their community. For what it's worth, when I had my Intel interview for OCS I was told that the mojority of an Intel career was in D.C., but that ship tours were required to progress in rank. The Intel officer I spoke with said that generally three ship tours were required throughout a career to make 0-6, but not everyone has that goal, and a lot of the Intel community enjoys the work they do on shore tours. Anyways, that's second hand scuttlebutt, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

[HH-60H]

I am interested in submiting a STA-21 package for intel officer and extremely curious on what are my chances of finishing up the rest of my career in the Navy (20 years) in Washington D.C. ? I really love the area and would have about 12 years left until retirement after putting on butter bars.

Also what is the typical career path of an intel officer? As far as how much control do they have on where they get placed taking in consideration rank. Are they still bound to sea shore rotations at higher ranks?

You're an IS, aren't there any 1630's you can ask? Not to blow you off, but there are only 2 or 3 1630's on AW, and just a couple more O's that know anything about the 1630 community.

 

[TrunkMonkey]

Your desire to stay in the DC area makes sense. However, this community is very in-demand for IAs and many of those are drawn from the large DC commands. So, a shore tour is no guarantee. Coming out of Naval Intelligence Officer Basic Course (NIOBC) you will do a 2 year sea tour, unless there are special circumstances. Following that, your next sea tour will be as an O-4.
The intel community as a whole is currently trying very hard to emphasize things like going on IAs, SPECWAR support, etc. as being good for the community/your career.

 

[FlyinSpy]

Not to blow you off, but there are only 2 or 3 1630's on AW, and just a couple more O's that know anything about the 1630 community.

And the odd 1635 as well. That either makes me a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a sea of sharks. Since self-delusion is better than no delusion, I'll stick with the former....

In theory, you could probably string together a set of assignments that would keep you in DC for a long time. 12 years uninterrupted would be quite a feat, though. It's almost guaranteed that you wouldn't be in DC as an O-1 - you'd be in school, and then a squadron, CVIC, or another Fleet assignment until you're at least a JG. O-2 to O-4, sure, you could head for DC and then bounce between ONI, the Pentagon, and the other 3-letter agencies in the area. But within 2 tours or so it will be time to go back to sea, or at least overseas. And that's a good thing.

I like the area too, but DC is not the Navy. It's easy to lose touch with the deckplates if you stay in the area too long. Many view DC tours as necessary evils rather than desirable jobs; if you have an interest in the area, you should be able to find assignments. But count on getting out of the area and back to the Fleet!

 

[fusu]

The intel community as a whole is currently trying very hard to emphasize things like going on IAs, SPECWAR support, etc. as being good for the community/your career.[/quote]

glad to hear it.