SWO to IW/Intel

[cjsmyly]

Depends. Are you hoping to stay in the Navy for a full 20 or get out after your DIVO rides? If you want to do a full 20, then branching into the SWO Acquisitions Professional community is a great way to do that as you will open up a wide array of options for working on the acquisitions side of the IW world. The best way to do that is to get a technical masters at NPS and then work with the OCM and detailers after your first DH ride to go do acquisitions things at a warfare center or at a Fleet staff. If you're looking to get out then follow the advice below:


To maximize your chances of going civilian intel community, find a tour working at DIA, the Pentagon, a Fleet Staff, or a Joint Staff. This will expose you to multiple different Navy IW types as well as those in other services and agencies. This will provide the broadest network possible. I would also start looking into developing language skills and have those added to your service record. Your criminal justice degree just isn't the right degree for working in the intel community. You need either technical acumen (Read STEM degrees and experience working on particular systems) or specific knowledge of certain parts areas of the world and cultures.

A third option is to parlay your Navy experience into an agent position with NCIS. They have Cybersecurity, CounterIntel, and Anti-Terrorism divisions that would likely be right up your alley. If you end up in and ATFP job at any point in your SWO career, you will likely end up working with NCIS to some degree and will have contacts within the agency from there. Great way to get your foot in the door.

While I can’t see my self staying in long term at the moment, I would not be against it. My end goal has always been federal law enforcement/IW and I feel like the military is a good stepping stone to advance my career and serve my country at the same time.

 

[AllAmerican75]

While I can’t see my self staying in long term at the moment, I would not be against it. My end goal has always been federal law enforcement/IW and I feel like the military is a good stepping stone to advance my career and serve my country at the same time.

Have you thought about going Army? You could go MP, transfer to CIS while in uniform, and then go federal LE from there. There aren't that many options for LE rolls in the Navy unless you're enlisted.

 

[cjsmyly]

Depends. Are you hoping to stay in the Navy for a full 20 or get out after your DIVO rides? If you want to do a full 20, then branching into the SWO Acquisitions Professional community is a great way to do that as you will open up a wide array of options for working on the acquisitions side of the IW world. The best way to do that is to get a technical masters at NPS and then work with the OCM and detailers after your first DH ride to go do acquisitions things at a warfare center or at a Fleet staff. If you're looking to get out then follow the advice below:


To maximize your chances of going civilian intel community, find a tour working at DIA, the Pentagon, a Fleet Staff, or a Joint Staff. This will expose you to multiple different Navy IW types as well as those in other services and agencies. This will provide the broadest network possible. I would also start looking into developing language skills and have those added to your service record. Your criminal justice degree just isn't the right degree for working in the intel community. You need either technical acumen (Read STEM degrees and experience working on particular systems) or specific knowledge of certain parts areas of the world and cultures.

A third option is to parlay your Navy experience into an agent position with NCIS. They have Cybersecurity, CounterIntel, and Anti-Terrorism divisions that would likely be right up your alley. If you end up in and ATFP job at any point in your SWO career, you will likely end up working with NCIS to some degree and will have contacts within the agency from there. Great way to get your foot in the door.

I apologize for the spam of questions but would you say it would be worth it to use the navy to pay for a second undergrad degree in something stem related? Or a masters in Homeland security or possibly a foreign language?

 

[AllAmerican75]

I apologize for the spam of questions but would you say it would be worth it to use the navy to pay for a second undergrad degree in something stem related? Or a masters in Homeland security or possibly a foreign language?

What is a Masters in Homeland Security? Why pay a college for a foreign language? There are plenty of low cost or free language learning tools and the fact of the matter is that you won't be useful to the intel community unless you also understand the culture. Intel and LE are not "book smart" professions in that regard. It sounds like you are looking to acquire niche knowledge that you won't get except through experience.

The people I know who are in Federal LE or in the intel communities have lots of real world experience performing LE-type missions, experience doing intel collection, have very niche knowledge from over a decade of learning about and traveling to certain parts of the world, or got their foot in the door through something like NCIS or CIS via their time in the Navy. For instance, I know a direct commission intel officer who is an honest-to-God archaeologist and works with DHS recovering antiquities smuggled into the US. I know another guy who is from the Levant, spent an immense amount of time growing up in Africa and got selected to assist NSW missions because of that language skillset and cultural knowledge.

I'm not sure what it is that you're trying to do here but I don't think the answer is more generic degrees or college. What is it exactly that YOU want to do?

 

[cjsmyly]

What is a Masters in Homeland Security? Why pay a college for a foreign language? There are plenty of low cost or free language learning tools and the fact of the matter is that you won't be useful to the intel community unless you also understand the culture. Intel and LE are not "book smart" professions in that regard. It sounds like you are looking to acquire niche knowledge that you won't get except through experience.

The people I know who are in Federal LE or in the intel communities have lots of real world experience performing LE-type missions, experience doing intel collection, have very niche knowledge from over a decade of learning about and traveling to certain parts of the world, or got their foot in the door through something like NCIS or CIS via their time in the Navy. For instance, I know a direct commission intel officer who is an honest-to-God archaeologist and works with DHS recovering antiquities smuggled into the US. I know another guy who is from the Levant, spent an immense amount of time growing up in Africa and got selected to assist NSW missions because of that language skillset and cultural knowledge.

I'm not sure what it is that you're trying to do here but I don't think the answer is more generic degrees or college. What is it exactly that YOU want to do?

Homeland security is an actual major and degree you can get. In your first comment you mentioned that my CJ degree isn’t ideal for the IW community so I was getting the implication that getting a stem degree would be ideal. Trying to get in with NCIS does seem like the best route for me now.

To answer what exactly I want to do, I have always been interested in counter-terrorism and counter-human trafficking. NCIS for sure seems like what I am after. I will do more research on the service.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Homeland security is an actual major and degree you can get. In your first comment you mentioned that my CJ degree isn’t ideal for the IW community so I was getting the implication that getting a stem degree would be ideal. Trying to get in with NCIS does seem like the best route for me now.

To answer what exactly I want to do, I have always been interested in counter-terrorism and counter-human trafficking. NCIS for sure seems like what I am after. I will do more research on the service.

I think what @AllAmerican75 is getting at with the Homeland Security masters is... how marketable is it both in the military and in the civilian sector?

 

[AllAmerican75]

I think what @AllAmerican75 is getting at with the Homeland Security masters is... how marketable is it both in the military and in the civilian sector?

That is exactly my point. A Masters in Homeland Security is a pretty pointless degree. It would be far better to dedicate that time and money to traveling to a part of the world you're interested in, studying the culture and language, and then selling your expertise. Even better if you can blend into that culture and its neighbors.