I am a former 11C paratrooper who is graduating from college soon. I am interested in a career as a CID Agent. What is life like in the CID?

SPC Kevin Cha — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 17:29:45 -0500

More specifically:

Am I still required to live in the barracks? (I am an E4)

Am I still required to use a meal card?

Do we PT on our own in the mornings or do we still have to do organized (asinine) PRT?

Do you like being a CID agent and are you planning to make it a career?

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Jan 27 at 2018 6:35 PM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 18:35:19 -0500

I was not CID, but I have a friend that was and I worked some cases with CID before I retired from my civilian LE job.

My buddy did not live in the barracks.

I do not know about the meal card.

He did not do unit PT, but did have to keep in shape and maintain Army PT standards.

My buddy ended up leaving the Army and got hired by the FBI. The others guys I knew seemed pretty happy with their jobs. They actually worked a lot with the civilian LE. The CID guys I worked with were competent investigators on par with other Feds (FBI, ATF, Secret Service, DEA, etc) that I had worked with.

Hopefully an actual CID agent can add more info for you.

Good luck.

Response by CW2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 27 at 2018 7:30 PM

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 27 Jan 2018 19:30:24 -0500

Talk to your local Recruiting Coordinator at the CID Office and visit the website cid.army.mil

-You're not required to live in barracks unless overseas. You'll pick up 5 soon after graduation.
-You do not need a meal card and will receive BAS.
-This depends on Office. Typically you'll do PT on your own.
-There are good and bad days in CID just as any other career field. Yes I am planning on making it a career, however our retention rate is low.

Response by CW3 Michael Clifford made Jan 28 at 2018 6:15 PM

CW3 Michael Clifford — Sun, 28 Jan 2018 18:15:10 -0500

I came into CID as a single E4. I also retired in 1994 but I haven’t heard of any of your questions changing over the years since my departure.

I was a secondary zone selection for both E5 and E6. I was promoted to E5 during the first three weeks of the CID course. I lived in a BEQ while single. I was in a kitchenette and cooked my own meals.

I did PT on my own for all 17 years except physical fitness tests, division runs, etc.

Training will be continuous throughout your career. This will include MOS required (BNCOC, ANCOC, etc.). It will also include MOS specific (Hostage Negotiations, Protective Services Course). I specialized in white collar and sex-based crimes. For that, I attend the Club Management Course, DOD Contracting Course, and the Property Disposal Operations Course. I also attended the Basic Arson Investigator’s Course, Advanced Death Investigator Course and ultimately attended the Forensic Science Course at Scotland Yard in London. I was a bit of a gun enthusiast and attended the train-the-trainers course when we converted over from .38 caliber revolvers to 9mm semi-automatic handguns. I added up all of my classroom time during my 17-year CID career and found I spent nearly 4 years of it in classrooms. I attained the rank of SFC in the enlisted ranks; CW3 in the Warrant Officer ranks and earned a AA, BA and a MPA in the college education efforts.

Response by SGM Steve Wettstein made Sep 14 at 2019 8:02 AM

SGM Steve Wettstein — Sat, 14 Sep 2019 08:02:34 -0400

SPC Kevin Cha 1. CID Special Agents are SGT and above. If you would graduate CID School you would be promoted to SGT. 2 You would not in a barracks or have a meal card. PT would be dictated by the CID Detachment Commander and 1SG. Enlisted CID Agents are encouraged to go to WOC.