Reclassing to 35N

[moobob]

One thing to bear in mind in a SIGINT career is you're going to need to move in and out of a variety of jobs if you want to progress. The days of hanging out in group for decades are largely gone - SMUs are another matter but concentrate on your 50m target first.

SOT-A is a great assignment, but if you want to move up past E6 and/or progress to WO you need to spend time working an NSA mission. That may be at NSA-W but there are a number of other cryptologic centers and CSGs with some high speed units. In every case your ability to learn about the enterprise - the tools and skills being used from national to tactical is what is going to make you excel. A Ranger tab will get you a leg up in any competition in MI that is picture-deep (so boards will always break your way other things being equal). But, you'll find once you're face-to-face and getting evaluated you better have some technical skill or you're better off staying 11B.

It's a timing thing, but airborne qualified 35Ps going anywhere other than an airborne assignment is a pipe dream, except for some random language... and the right timing.

 

[RTBro]

It's a timing thing, but airborne qualified 35Ps going anywhere other than an airborne assignment is a pipe dream, except for some random language... and the right timing.

Noted.

 

[moobob]

Cryptologic Support Group. It's a semi-permanent team of NSA troopers (joint service) with duty at a specific command - Echelon Above Corps (EAC). They provide SIGINT support - including access to NSANet and NSANet databases for the supported command.

SIGINT has a huge variety in where and how you can serve. If you choose 35N, 35P, or 35S don't get myopic on a single job.

It would be great to be "well balanced" but that is not reality now, and hasn't been for a long time. If you are a SOT-A, you are stuck doing that unless you get booted, injured, or are low hanging fruit when DA randomly needs someone for DA select assignments.

There are plenty of SOT-As with no strat time that I would take for any mission over someone that has worked in a CSG.

The army continues to judge someone over having a balanced career that someone couldn't have if they wanted. A lot of the people that do have strat and tactical time are duds anyway that couldn't hack it in one of the two places.

Rant over...

 

[Brill]

It would be great to be "well balanced" but that is not reality now, and hasn't been for a long time. If you are a SOT-A, you are stuck doing that unless you get booted, injured, or are low hanging fruit when DA randomly needs someone for DA select assignments.

There are plenty of SOT-As with no strat time that I would take for any mission over someone that has worked in a CSG.

The army continues to judge someone over having a balanced career that someone couldn't have if they wanted. A lot of the people that do have strat and tactical time are duds anyway that couldn't hack it in one of the two places.

Rant over...

I think National experience significantly enables the tactical work especially when you're able to build the relationship with key analysts that are in a position of over watch. It's a good feeling to chat/call Bob to let him know the team will be on Op X. Most people I know "take ownership" of units in the field especially when a TIC is declared.

 

[moobob]

That's completely true. My point is that people are sometimes judged on things they have almost no control over. The same thing happens in the officer ranks when the right tickets aren't punched, sometimes due to timing or dumb luck.

As far as the value of experience doing different things at different echelons... There are people that would succeed anywhere and wouldn't necessarily suddenly become enlightened by doing strat time. There are people that do have a narrow focus limited to their experience, but there are some very smart people throughout the community... with very limited, or no control, over their assignments unless they try out for something else on the SOF side.