Which reserve branch is best for intel?

Stone White — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 21:57:58 -0500

Apologies if this is not the type of question this forum is designed for. I'll happily delete if that's the case.
---

Personal Background:

29yo college graduate with a BA in political science and history, currently working in a civil service position within my local government in the Washington DC area.

My job is as a staffer for a politician in my city. I enjoy it quite a bit, but there's limited growth, my boss might not get reelected, and they are flirting with the idea of retiring from public office after their next term. I need to start opening doors for myself now.

---

Goals:

I'd like to transition from state/local government to federal/ international relations. The dream would be to land something in the IC. I realize that is an incredibly long shot without being AD, but you miss 100% of the shots you don't take, right? But even if I don't get a chance in the IC, my hope is that the military might give me a leg up in entering the IR field (whatever that may be).

I have a not so stellar undergraduate record but was recently accepted into a lower level MPA program. My job pays for the tuition, so my plan is to pad my record with hopes of transitioning to one of the big DC IR schools.

Perusing USAJOBS, the IC positions that stick out to me are all source analysts and GEOINT analysts.

---

Reasons I want to join (in order):

Security clearance.

Intel experience.

General experience that will look good for other fed jobs and/or IR grad school.

A general desire to serve.

Student loan help and the extra monthly cash.

---

Which branch:

Army-

Looking at 35F, 35S, and 35N.

The tracts and training seem more clear than with other branches.

I've heard people describe the Army Reserve as "It's what you make of it." I view this as a plus and feel that I can make something good out of it.

Navy-

Seems to be the more respected branch of MI. Does that open more doors?

I'm not quite sure I understand the different IS positions. The C- School options seem limited from the outside looking in.

Bonus points for A + C school being close to home.

Air Force-

Haven't looked too much at this option. Previous posts don't really consider things outside the Army and Navy.

My general knowledge is that the AF is the more "desirable" branch.

Help me out! Which branch is good for reservists and creating later opportunities? I've eliminated the Marines and Coast guard for consideration but happy to be convinced otherwise.

---

What I'm thinking about:

I don't feel that I'm completive for any officer slots in the Navy or Air Force. I'd certainly consider an officer position within the Army, but let's say that there are no openings at the moment. Should I still go Army with hopes of becoming an officer after my first contract is up? Or should I go with the Navy and hope that a masters degree makes me more competitive?

Is there are space for "generalists" (think 35F) in the IC these days? Or are specialists more desired (think 35S or 35G) What skills are most marketable?

Thank you.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2022 10:07 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 22:07:34 -0500

I have worked with Intelligence professionals from the Army, Navy, Marines, and of course Air Force. I personal recommendation is the Air Force. The over all quality of life is better. Since you already have a BA, become an Officer.

Response by SPC Kevin Ford made Feb 27 at 2022 10:19 PM

SPC Kevin Ford — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 22:19:46 -0500

I'd go officer if at all possible. Those postings seem to have the best transferability to be considered for outside employment. But as I understand it officer positions don't always have the ability to chose what you want to do (other than pilots, doctors, chaplains and a few others).

I had a good experience with Army intelligence though the vast majority of the positions are going to be tactical. Naval intelligence does have a good reputation but it also brings in the question of what you would be doing in a reserve unit. I was a 96B (what is now a 35F) and got lucky with a division level posting in the 2ID in Korea so got to work a live mission. In the Army Reserves many missions may not be live (i.e. training) so may not give you all the live experience you desire.

The MOSs you are looking at are good but one things I'd personally do differently, particularly if I were planning on going to the greater intelligence community, would be to do something that gets you language training. Particularly anything that takes you to DLI. You can take a guess as to what languages would be valuable to learn these days (Chinese, Arabic, Russian, etc) and get such training locked into your contract. A language skill can go a long way to overcoming shortcomings in the type of experience.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 27 at 2022 10:50 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 22:50:11 -0500

While this can be seen as a vague answer...it is still the only answer possible: The best one is the one that provides you the best opportunities. You're just going to have to PRO/CON all the branches and see which one lines up with what you want.

Response by SSgt Christophe Murphy made Feb 27 at 2022 11:47 PM

SSgt Christophe Murphy — Sun, 27 Feb 2022 23:47:38 -0500

Each Military Branch has the general same standards when it comes a lot of things that have DOD standards like communications, medical and intel. The main difference you’ll run into are the different cultures within each Military branch. That and their individual models for deployments/training is what you’ll see. It comes down to what Branch mesh’s best with you.

Response by CSM Chuck Stafford made Feb 28 at 2022 7:14 AM

CSM Chuck Stafford — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 07:14:48 -0500

I'm biased for Army MI -- 35N, 35P, and 35F in that order -- you probably will hit all your goals, less the "intel experience" if you get assigned to an MTOE unit in your 1st assignment. You could get lucky and get a TDA (think 3 letter agencies around the beltway). I'll be happy to answer questions...

Response by SFC Casey O'Mally made Feb 28 at 2022 8:13 AM

SFC Casey O'Mally — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 08:13:09 -0500

OK, I have to get this out of the way, first...

If your primary reason for joining is to get a clearance, then the military may not be for you. Any Intel job will require a TS, which is not *that* hard to get - but does need to be maintained by, among other things, being a good Soldier / Squid / Zoomie / Marine. You have many reasons listed, so you may be OK. But if you remove the clearance from the list, and the rest isn't enough of a motivation, then perhaps pursue other avenues. The clearance should be the cherry on top. When I have seen Soldiers who had the clearance as the ice cream, the hot fudge, the sprinkles, AND the cherry? That never ended well.

Having gotten that out of the way...

I'm biased toward the Army and will admit it. But I believe, even without the bias, the Army will give you the best shot at gaining actual Intel experience as a reservist. I have basically no experience with reserves for the other branches, but this is because I have literally never seen any of their reservists in action, despite multiple joint assignments / deployments. Which is why I think the Army will give you more of a chance at actual experience.

Of course, I could be totally wrong. And, from what I have seen and read, a LOT will depend on the specific unit. I would guess that even if my assumption about experience is true, a good Navy Intel unit will beat a bad Army one.

Long story, short: research the individual units and see what they ACTUALLY do on a drill to drill basis. That will give you a good idea of what you will get out of your time, and what you will be expected to put in.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2022 11:06 AM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 11:06:29 -0500

Here's my biased opinion. As a commitment going forward in life the Army Reserves is going to be a larger opportunity for you to serve, and advance. You're Navy/USMC positions are going to be more coastal located with a smaller promotional base to advance from.

When I was an Intel Analyst there never were enough of us, and promotions were and are relatively easy in the USAR.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Feb 28 at 2022 2:03 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 14:03:30 -0500

I’m a 35F. Just being a 35F doesn’t give you a leg up unless you go to a strategic assignment. And 35F are All-source analysts. Key word, “All-source”

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 1 at 2022 11:22 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 01 Mar 2022 23:22:42 -0500

Go Air Force Intelligence. You'll have a better quality of life and more opportunities to work Joint.