Switching from Air to Intel?

[TheFurr7198]

Ive been going over some stuff lately and until about a week ago I have been dead set on Marine Corp Aviation. I leave to go to TBS in about 3-4 weeks( Oct. 18) and i found some stuff on Ground Intel, Human Intel, etc. that really intrigued and excited me. I was wondering how would it work if I was to switch to a ground contract and pick up a ground MOS. If any of the aviators on this or people going to TBS right now have seen this process, info would be greatly appreciated. I still want to do air but I could also see myself in one of those professions to. Thanks for any help anybody can give me.

 

[HH-60H]

Wow, the power of the dark side is strong, it's gettin' to you even before you get to TBS.

 

[SemperGumbi]

Switching=Bad, bad idea. The cool-aid will wear off (once you get to primary/API it will become Helo cool-aid, but that is another story).

Switching was a pian for dudes when I went through, and I believe the current policy is switchers get the left-overs....so you probably aren't going to get your ground-intel spot.

I hate to say it, and I don't even know what you would search for word-wise, but there is a lot of discussion on this topic throughout the forums. Some of it is a lot more in depth than anything I am writing.

 

[Nose]

Talking to my intel friends, that humint side of intel is a pretty narrow field and hard to get into.

If you like the cloak and dagger stuff, there is some of that in aviation too.

N

 

[raptor10]

If you like the cloak and dagger stuff, there is some of that in aviation too.

N

I understand you can't say a lot, but could you elaborate? What immediately comes to mind is this:

 

[Nose]

There are jobs for aviators that are not traditional. They involve working with and for personnel/commands that are not normally part of your scan in aviation. I know of a couple, I am sure there are more.

They are also, like the spy "Humint" jobs, pretty few and far between.

Oh, yeah. And sometimes they pick someone to go to the USSR and steal next generation technology.

Nose

 

[Killer2]

As of May '07, you would get left overs and also you don't pick HUMINT or SIGINT you pick INTELL and get what they give you and then eventually become a MAGTF intel officer of 0202. You do get to order you choices i.e. #1 Ground #2 Humint... #4 Sigint.

You should wait to talk to some Intel folks and talk to different air platforms to find out what you want to do. Side note every time the intel folks spoke to us they started by saying.."If you want to be intel to do all the highspeed stuff choose another MOS!"

 

[gtxc2001]

One of my roommates did something similar. He dropped his aviation contract becasue he thought infantry would be better. Well, about a month into TBS he decided that infantry sucked, didn't want it, and ended up as an aviation maintenance officer. Lo and behold, he discovered that really sucked (for him, anyway) and now he's in the process of redesignating to ground intel. I won't be surprised if he discovers that he hates that too. Soon he'll be a senior 1st Lt doing what a junior 2nd Lt should be doing, and I don't think his AMO MOS credibility (if he built any) is going to help him out much. To make a short story extremely long, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence to some folks, but the aviation contract is the best deal out there. If you drop it, there's a good chance you'll end up with a job that you didn't want to begin with, and may or may not end up liking. I'd say dropping your flight contract will set you up for success only a bit better than attriting from advanced. Think hard before you give up on your guaranteed deal.

 

[TrunkMonkey]

Everyone and their mom wants to do HUMINT. There are screening processes to get picked up for it, at least on the Navy side. You've got to have that personality that is charming/makes everyone want to tell you their secrets. Not everyone does.
Intel is a great career, an intellectual challenge, a chance to work with some awesome people and equipment. However, the high-speed stuff is an extremely small percentage of it. Don't pick it for those reasons alone.

 

[HH-60H]

Everyone and their mom wants to do HUMINT. There are screening processes to get picked up for it, at least on the Navy side. You've got to have that personality that is charming/makes everyone want to tell you their secrets. Not everyone does.

Yeah, but I have a feeling the USMC HUMINT MOS is a less appealing and glamorous flavor of HUMINT compared to some of the other agencies.

 

[SemperGumbi]

Yeah, but I have a feeling the USMC HUMINT MOS is a less appealing and glamorous flavor of HUMINT compared to some of the other agencies.

The USMC human intel is actually sexy for some guys with cool asssignments, and as expected, not at all sexy for others. When I used to be in that area of things some of those dudes were doing high-speed stuff.

But some were complete and total paper-pushers.

A lot of those dudes are just barely even in the Corps.

 

[3P4Life]

Drop your air contract? Are you nuts? Listen you are going to be fed cup after cup of Ooooh Rah Juice at TBS, but no matter how moto you are, they still have to pick somebody to be the Adjutant, Supply O, Financial Officer etc. If you drop that contract, you are going to be thrown to the mercy of the SPC's and Manpower. Don't do it.

Go to flight school. Hang out there for 9months while you get paid to live at the beach and maybe go help at the local elementary school while MATSG tries to crank of the Willy Wonka machine to get you into class. Then, after you've at least tried flying, you can quit and throw yourself to Manpower. That way if they shaft you with Aviation supply you will only owe a few years and can punch out back to the first Civ Div.

If you want Intel after that, go to the Army they'll take you and give you all the intel schools you want. Heck, they are paying their Capt. 35k just to not get out.

 

[Afterburner76]

The USMC human intel is actually sexy for some guys with cool asssignments, and as expected, not at all sexy for others. When I used to be in that area of things some of those dudes were doing high-speed stuff.

But some were complete and total paper-pushers.

A lot of those dudes are just barely even in the Corps.

One of my bros got attrited from VT-2 in Primary (end of RI's) and was picked up for HUMINT. He was a prior staff sergeant who then did MECEP. He loves what he does now... pretty crazy sht too.

 

[Flash]

Ive been going over some stuff lately and until about a week ago I have been dead set on Marine Corp Aviation. I leave to go to TBS in about 3-4 weeks( Oct. 18) and i found some stuff on Ground Intel, Human Intel, etc. that really intrigued and excited me. I was wondering how would it work if I was to switch to a ground contract and pick up a ground MOS. If any of the aviators on this or people going to TBS right now have seen this process, info would be greatly appreciated. I still want to do air but I could also see myself in one of those professions to. Thanks for any help anybody can give me.

Do you like Power Point? I am not joking when I say that .ppt will likely become a major part of your life if you go intel. I know that the Marines can specialize in HUMINT but that is a small and specialized field, and it is not always what it is cracked up to be. Some stuff can be cool but you could end up in a real crappy job just like any other field. And some guys talk a bigger game than they really do, some of what they do is a bit mundane. Now some of it is very cool, but you are not going to be James Bond. And as a Pilot or NFO you can still get involved in Intel if you really want, I did. They like former aircrew a lot......

 

[TheFurr7198]

Im not going to drop it before I got there. I was trying to find some more information that way its not a seat of the pants decision when I get there. I wouldnt care about all the fast pace stuff. After talking to a retired navy guy, he said his daughter had done Intel and that clearance/job was great for post military jobs. Its just a lot to think about because I dont want to hate my job 3 years from now so I just want to make the best decision. Appreciate all the responses.