Hi all, quick question to all the intel people out there, prior or present, or knowledgeable. I’m in afrotc with hopes of flying, but I have intel as my second choice. There’s not much info out there on the career obviously, but I was just wondering what kind of duties exist in the intel field and how you go about getting them after tech school. Like what’s the difference between a intel guy at c130 squadron vs an f35 squadron vs a special tactics squadron? Do intel guys ever fly or go into the field?
Intel
- Thread starter Blue1358
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It's been quite some time since my Intel (14N) days, but I highly recommend assignment with AFSOC if you can get it. It is close knit community with unique mission sets and ops tempo. Also highly recommend the 353rd SOW based at Kadena AB, Okinawa. There is a sister wing in Europe (352nd) and the main AFSOC hub in FL (1st). Good luck.
possibleprior
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There's a couple different standard paths an intel officer can start out in. You might go to a DCGS site and lead a team of analysts doing that mission. You can go to a flying squadron or an operations support squadron and provide intel support to flight operations (ie briefing threats, tactics, etc). You can go work for a three letter agency doing those sorts of things (but not like the movies, sorry). Once you've cut your teeth for a few years in a standard assignment, there are a multitude of unique, weird things that intel officers can go do. Some units have 14Ns who are qualified as aircrew. I've met 14Ns who've been to real jump school (no offense to AM-490 grads) as a part of their assignment. There are 14Ns who do assignments where they don't wear uniforms. The sky is the limit and it's possible to go deep and dark into the rabbit hole.
The most important thing to know about being an intel officer is you likely won't be an analyst, at least now how you expect. Plenty of intel officers do very important, tangible work. But your role is still that of most any other officer: to lead Airmen. Intel officers will have enlisted analysts who work for them. A 14N's job is to know the mission, yes, but most importantly to harness and direct the analytical brainpower of their subordinate Airmen/technical experts towards accomplishing the mission. Intel officers lead the intel mission.
I can't say enough good things about how fulfilling the intel mission is in the AF.
The most important thing to know about being an intel officer is you likely won't be an analyst, at least now how you expect. Plenty of intel officers do very important, tangible work. But your role is still that of most any other officer: to lead Airmen. Intel officers will have enlisted analysts who work for them. A 14N's job is to know the mission, yes, but most importantly to harness and direct the analytical brainpower of their subordinate Airmen/technical experts towards accomplishing the mission. Intel officers lead the intel mission.
I can't say enough good things about how fulfilling the intel mission is in the AF.
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I don't have any direct advice/knowledge I can put on an open forum - but I have worked with a wide variety of intel officers in my career and can definitely say that other than my career field (physics, 61D) that would by far be my first choice. They definitely have an important job with a wide variety of options and assignments. The downside is often the Air Force likes to shuffle them around too much to make them knowledgeable in all types of intel jobs, but similar to the physics career field, this kind of shuffling results in a constant state of living on a steep learning curve. As long as you are willing to listen and learn fast though, that can be a benefit because of the breadth of things you'll get to do.