0206 - Signals Intelligence
1. Introduction
Signals Intelligence (SigInt) provides the best of both worlds. This field requires traditional Marine Corps field skills and high-end technical knowledge. If you want a job that challenges you both physically and mentally and provides opportunities for independent command early in your career, consider the 0206 occupational field.
2. What is this MOS like?
This MOS is best suited for officers who want to lead very bright Marines. The minimum GCT for Signals Intelligence Marines is one of the highest in the Corps. Though working with people at this intellectual level can make for some unique leadership challenges, being their leader is one of the most rewarding opportunities imaginable.
Although your entry-level training does not require a 4.00 GPA in engineering or applied mathematics, this is a technical field; a basic understanding of college physics and computers will help you immensely. Technical skills, such as basic communications theory and LAN/WAN fundamentals, will be taught at your first duty station, since most of the technical aspects of the MOS are no longer taught at the officers’ school.
You are required to maintain the highest security clearance, top secret with access to sensitive compartmentalized information (TS/SCI). Some assignments require a polygraph, but if you aren’t a foreign spy, don’t worry.
SigInt Marines support forward-deployed Marine Expeditionary Units (MEU) and other MAGTFs. If you are averse to living in the field, eating MREs, and performing physical work, you will not excel. Likewise, if you are averse to augmenting MEF-level staff sections or if you stutter when talking to colonels, you will be ineffective.
3. What will I do after TBS before I get to my first billet?
After TBS you will attend school in Pensacola, Florida for three months. School is extremely demanding, and not necessarily fun. There is no time in the field and the focus is on learning United States SigInt Directives (USSIDs). Learning USSIDs and how the Marine Corps contributes to the United States SigInt System (USSS) is important, because collecting others’ communications is serious business. Mistakes can have strategic implications as well as resulting in criminal charges against you. Therefore, learn the basics for three months, so you can have fun later. It is a small price to pay in the big picture, and Pensacola is a great town.
4. What will my first tour be like?
Your first tour will be at one of the two radio battalions. First Radio Battalion is located in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and supports Marine Forces Pacific (MarForPac), First Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), and III MEF. Second Radio Battalion is in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and supports Marine Forces Atlantic and II MEF. You can expect to be a platoon commander with any of the following collection assets: Radio Reconnaissance Platoon, for deep battle collection; SIGINT Support Platoon, for direct support to the ground or air combat commander; or Mobile Electronic Warfare Support System (MEWSS) Platoon, for early warning and electronic attack operations with Light Armored Reconnaissance. After proving yourself as a platoon commander, you will lead independent detachments, which comprise teams
from any or all of the three types of platoons listed above. Overall, you can expect to be deployed about 35 percent of your time at your first duty station. The most sought after billet is SIGINT Support Platoon
Commander for a Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable), which usually happens at the end of your Radio Battalion tour.
5. Where might I go after my first tour?
You will probably be sent to the Navy/Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center (NMITC) in Dam Neck, Virginia, for transition training to the 0202 MOS, MAGTF Intelligence Officer. You could also be assigned to Marine Support Battalion at the National Security Agency, any of the divisions or wings, or to Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC).
6. Where else can I look for information on this MOS?
• Marine Corps Intelligence Association
http://mcia-inc.org/
• Marine Corps Counterintelligence Association
http://mccia.org/
• Defenselink
http://www.defenselink.mil/
7. Conclusion
As an 0206 you will work with some of the smartest Marines in the Corps to accomplish an exciting and necessary mission. You will develop people skills and technical skills that will make you successful whether you choose the Marine Corps as a career, or whether you choose to transition after your first tour.