Planning on making the switch from Military Intelligence to PSYOPS. Any advice?

2014-03-24T16:28:37-04:00

If anyone has advice or can shed light on selection for PSYOPs, being an ARSOF officer, or think that staying MI is a better decision please share.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 24 at 2014 5:03 PM

2014-03-24T17:03:33-04:00

There are plus sides to both. But really its up to you and what you want out of your time in the Army. Going CA, SF or PSYOPS guarantees you more time at a tactical level. And when I say tactical, I mean team and company level. But the thing that is crazy about all three is that they are "tactical" "small teams" making strategic level impacts. That is what is so unique about the ARSOF Community. You as a Captain, in any of those three branches have the potential of being the face of the United States in a foreign country, dealing with dignitaries, ambassadors, tribal elders etc.

As an MI officer I had somewhat of a unique experience we can talk about offline, but honestly unless you get tracked into the single source side, you will always be just a middle man of information to a higher level. Opportunities to work with indigenous forces or do things at the ground level are somewhat limited. That being said, if you go ARSOF, it guarantees you language training, which is a big deal if you want to apply for some of the cool guy MI stuff later. More people funnel into that community from ARSOF than they do actual MI.

Anyway those are just a few things off the top of my head that were reasons why I made the switch.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 5 at 2016 10:31 AM

2016-04-05T10:31:02-04:00

I am a PSYOP officer. I was field artillery, not MI. I knew very little about PSYOP when I made the switch. I just pulled the trigger. I love it. I love the idea is psychological warfare and its practice. We have a great deal of limits on what we can do in the open but this is a creativity business based on science. It's within SOCOM so you're in a new world you didn't know existed with opportunities not extended to many in the Army. You'll stay in airborne status for the majority of your career, which for me, is great. You'll be treated much better in the long run, as SOCOM values the individual as the primary weapons system, not equipment or machinery. You'll learn a language which you'll be paid for maintaining proficiency through the DLPT, anywhere from $100 to $400 a month. You'll likely have the opportunity to be on a MIST team which go to an embassy for 4+ months. You'll have the opportunity for many advanced schools not open to regular army. Your missions will be in support of SOCOM missions, supporting special operations forces of all services. The grass isn't always greener. The branch has its issues which are in the process of being overcome through better personnel and talent management. This is NOT Special Forces-Lite. Don't make the switch thinking you'll ever kick in a door in combat. That's not what we do. Is it possible, of course, anything is. It's not likely at all. We have way more deploying missions than we have officers and NCOs able to deploy. There's always an overseas opportunity. SOCOM has a new mandatory 1:2 dwell ratio. Deployed 6 months, home for 12. No one deploys more than 6 months anymore. I love it.

Response by LTC Eric Udouj made Apr 7 at 2016 11:07 AM

2016-04-07T11:07:29-04:00

Think that MI is a great starting block for a PSYOP officer and you will be able to added greatly to what you currently know and understand and how you think with the training that PSYOP does provide - and the experiences that it offers. PSYOP is a different world (and PSYOPS is the NATO term and not the US one) than that which you will find in the rest of the Army and one that would recommend that you try to selection. The closest experience you can get in MI is being in the 2 staff of an ARSOF unit or command. many of the BN S-2 staffs have worked with later ended up becoming 37As after their experiences. You go into PSYOP if you really want to make a difference in what you do - and are looking for the place that will allow for that to occur.

You will find from the start that you are working at a different level than you had probably worked at before - often in a joint realm that is being supported by your element. You will become a master of joint planning and in teaching others how to do it. You will be trained in a language and can likely get a Masters on your regional specialization - and then there are courses that you may never have heard about that you will be eligible for. Sounds good - but those are the selling points as well as that you will find yourself likely deployed alot to many different places in your GCC area your BN is responsible for - MISTs, missions, JCETs, and exercises.