What should I expect with a counterintelligence job regarding peacetime and deployed operations?

Samuel,

Your MC experience will be very value added to transitioning to Army CI. Understand that your training and roles in your MC job are very tactical and are a blend of Army CI and Tactical HUMINT which are two separate MOSs in the Army. First you should research Army CInand seek to get a mentor at a local Army 902d MI office closest to where you live. If unavailable, you can seek any Army CI person if available to talk about the roles and missions of the MOS and the different expressions of the job.

I have see a few ways Army CI Agents are used. First is in a strategic (usually) position where they carry their B&Cs and are on investigative status. This is usually with a Strategic CI unit or Or Special unit and is the place most CI folks want to be. It can prove to be hard to get these assignments and they are coveted in the CI world. Many Agents can go years and not Carry their B&Cs and or do investigations. This has and will always be a source of debate and passion for many; since it’s the real reason we have CI but it’s a small segment of the activity.

Then second and most prevalent assignments you would be assigned to a unit echelons below Corps level-Tactical and sometimes operational units. Here you could work in an a S2 shop being the subject matter expert on CI issues (but usually do threat assessments and or security-if your lucky); an analytical activity assisting with the CI angles to products and intel efforts; or assigned to a HUMINT activity as a support to their operations. In this usually you do not carry B&Cs and will not investigate; you never know how the units will use you and in some cases you just become another HUMINT collector, Assist with Interrogations and or Analysis in a Facikity or whatever the units think you should do even if you try to convince them otherwise. It’s chaos theory at its finest. I have seen just about everything really.

Then you have some very niche jobs (usually more senior positions) where you are vetted and apply and go through a assessment process. These can be explained in person better notnon this forum.

No matter what, I believe CI in the Army of done in the true spirit of the roles and missions of the activity is an amazing opportunity for anyone. It’s relevant, investigative, you can do source operations, analysis and translates well after the military service concludes. CI folks are a different tribe and the more you know the more you will understand the system and how to best fit yourself into it.

I have worked with, led and supported MC CI/HUMINT and have been very impressed with them. If your good there now, you will excel in Army CI. You may want to be a HUMINT collector as well in the Army so don’t let that thought fall flat either. You might be better suited for that MOS?

Hope that helps and please send me a note anytime if you would like to talk more about the topic.

Always Out Front

DB

Cpl (Join to see) I thought I saw this before, but you would have a tough time with me giving a MOS recommendation for CI. I have been an 0211 and Army CI S/A. You better research this more. The last I saw, and I did the research when teaching 1983-87 the CI S/A Course.....1949 was the last I saw CI as a hyphenated word.
1. You are too old to be in the MOS.
2. You need to do a much more research and at least spell it correctly if you want in the program! I attended after being a Marine 0311 and went to school in 1978 as a Marine at FT Huachuca. I retired in 2014 from Army Civil Service. We still had CI as a single word during that entire time.
3. I might be wrong, but if you are interested there is a company in Wash DC that installed counters and was called Counter-Intelligence.

You should really consider seeking a commission. Following discharge or retirement there is a lot more you can do with HUMINT/CI in the "other government agencies"