Army Intelligence careers

[Prepswimmom]

All - can any one out there speak to Army Intelligence careers? My DS was not accepted to USNA and is entertaining future options. Of all the schools he applied to, his favorite turned out to be the only one without NROTC. But it is in DC and part of the Hoya Battalion. His interest lies in intelligence - he always thought Navy, but he would love to learn about Army.

 

[jrhawkdad]

My DS is graduating in a couple of weeks and is going into Military Intelligence after Army ROTC. He just recently found out that he will be part of the 224th MI BN in Savannah, GA. He is very excited about this opportunity.

MI was his first choice and he got AD without having to ADSO. MI is probably the most competitive branch that is not a combat branch. Many start out their career attached to a combat branch before going to MI school.

According to my DS, MI is a branch that will be growing in the future with some exciting areas such as Cyber Command and other branches that lend themselves well to future employment outside of the Army

 

[scoutpilot]

There's a bigger thread on this in the USMA section.

MI branch careers can be rewarding, but at the LT and captain level they are usually pretty boring and inconsequential unless you're in a special unit. Otherwise, it's a very vertical structure and can be very frustrating and boring career field. Everyone thinks that they'll be doing some Hollywood-esque CIA intel work. Realistically it's a lot of email, clearance management, and basic briefings.

 

[mbitr]

Oh S2, why won't you just green light my pass to go to Egypt? I just want to see the pyramids and I promise I won't get abducted.

On the up side, if excitement is your son's thing he can spend a good chunk of his junior officer time branch detailed to combat arms. A little googling will give you the details of how it works. It's a pretty good deal. Do all the fun stuff while you're young, and then move on to MI and all the doors that opens down the road.