Are there any USAF Intel officers willing to discuss the field? I'm an AS 300 cadet getting ready to put down my dreamsheet. Any help?

2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 15:36:49 -0500

Intelligence is one of my top two career choices (the other being Space Operations). Hearing more details from current officers would be helpful.

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2019 3:38 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 15:38:39 -0500

What do you want to know?

Response by Maj Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2019 3:38 PM

Maj Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 15:38:42 -0500

Sure. I'll discuss it with you. Granted my experience is in Cyber Intel rather than traditional

Response by 2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 3 at 2019 4:16 PM

2d Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 16:16:47 -0500

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member and Maj Private RallyPoint Member, thank you for responding gentlemen,

I have compiled a (long) list of my questions below. I've broken my 18 questions down into four categories; Your role(s)/experiences, initial training, initial positions/duties, deployments, and career development.

Your Role(s) and Experiences
1. What is your current role (in a level that you can tell me if some level of your tasking is classified)?
2. I've heard that Intel officers tend to give a lot of briefings. What are some of the things you tend to do frequently besides briefings?
3. Do you tend to work mostly with other officers or are you mostly in charge of enlisted personnel?
4. Do you usually have consistent work hours, or do they rotate frequently for 24/7 coverage?

Initial Training and Positions
1. What does the training pipeline look like for newly commissioned second lieutenants?
2. How long can we expect after commissioning before we get our EAD date? I know pilots can have up to a year wait.
3. Is there much hands-on training, or is it mostly academic?
4. What kind of base options can we expect to start with? How do those options evolve over time?
5. What kinds of skills, characteristics, and academic background are most helpful for success?
6. What do you wish you knew when you started that you know now?

Deployments
1. What kind of deployment opportunities are there?
2. How frequently and how long are typical deployments?
3. Are deployments typically voluntarily, mandatory, or something in between?

Career Development
1. Besides normal USAF trainings like Squadron Officer School that everyone should attend in person or remotely, what are continuing education opportunities for Intel officers?
2. When we get ready to pursue a Masters, does it matter what it's in, or just that we have one?
3. Are there opportunities to develop, acquire, and/or maintain foreign language proficiency?
4. What are general duties for Intel officers?
5. Is there any other general advice you would want to pass on?

I greatly appreciate you taking the time to respond to my laundry list of questions. It will give me valuable insight into how I order my dream-sheet. Thank you again gentlemen!