Intelligence Officer / Operator

[Erix1990]

its a trade ive been looking into as a second choice, but im curious to see if anyone on here has past experience in intel, like im curious if it is possible to choose outside operations in the field instead of being cooped up in an operations base and be on computers all day..., if anyone can give me past experience id greatly appreciate it

Thanks, Eric.

 

[The Bread Guy]

1)  the "Op" in "Int Op" is short for "operator", not "operative"
2)  There's a WHOLE thread dealing with nothing but this stuff right here:
http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/12858.0.html

In fact, let me bring you over there - care to follow me this way......?

Milnet.ca Staff

 

[david890]

Hello!

I am interested in applying for the regular officer training program. I would like to give a bit of information about myself to see if I would be eligible/well-suited.

First off, I studied one year of sciences at McGill, hated it, and so I took this year to study arts courses part time. I have now transferred into arts at McGill and will be doing a BA in political science, hopefully with an emphasis on international relations and North American studies. Including the upcoming year, I will have 3 years left to complete my degree.

I am wondering if I would qualify based on academics, and if they would mind only paying for 2 or 3 years of education. My marks were quite good this year...To the best of my knowledge, we must apply by mid January to be accepted for the following year? Or is there any way for the upcoming year at McGill to be subsidized? Can someone please explain what would be the situation with my educational background. Thank you.

I am in great shape (do track etc.), love my country, and am passionate about potentially serving. I need to know, however, more details about the paid education.

I did find this earlier in the thread, but if someone could please elaborate on it and relate it a bit more to my situation (such as when to apply, etc.) that would be fantastic! Thanks!!


"2) You can apply for entry into the regular force under the Regular Officer Training Plan even if you still have some post-secondary under your belt, provided that upon your enrollment, you will still have a minimum of 2 years worth of schooling to go in your degree. Keep in mind that not all schools use the same "credit" system as yours may, so stating that you have 15 credits may be meaningless.

3) Wait until the new fiscal year, and then go into the recruiting centre to tell them that you would like to enrol as an ROTP candidate as an IntO.

4) You incur obligatory service at the rate of 2 months obligatory service per month of education subsidized. "

 

[Greymatters]

If no one has already told you, probably best to check with your local recruting center and find out if there are any openings are out there at all, given the current reduction in staffing and recruitment across the country...

 

[Spooks]

its a trade ive been looking into as a second choice, but im curious to see if anyone on here has past experience in intel, like im curious if it is possible to choose outside operations in the field instead of being cooped up in an operations base and be on computers all day..., if anyone can give me past experience id greatly appreciate it

Thanks, Eric.

I suppose I should make a note on this (from what I know) since it appears that the Hollywood misconception of Int (in Canada, it's Int, not Intel). As an IntOp, you will be in the HQ pretty much 99% of your time. You will be given a task such as collater (Cpl or Senior member's job) which means you take all the int coming into you and you organize it so it can make sense. Then you have the plotter (juniormost postion) where you get to draw symbols on a map. This is where you will be as a prettymuch guarantee. If you want to go 'into the field' and gather int there then perhaps IntOp is not the job for you.

FieldInt is gathered by all ranks, by all people, given to the section Cmdr in the debriefing and he gives it up to the collator. By the way the book goes, members with the TIOC (Tactical Intelligence Operator's Course) cut in between and are actually the ones that gather all the mission reports to put up, take the IntBriefings and give them to the individual Coys or patrols, and if need be, are the ones tasked to go out and take measurements or photos for the HQ IntCell. Not that much more glamorous, but it gets you out with the feet on the ground.

The Hollywood-ized 'getting contacts to feed you info' is neither one of them, is nowhere as cool and 10x more frustrating (being fed bad intel, etc), and is a course people take from any trade that enables you to gather HUMINT (Human Intelligence). If you want the Int gathering where you go out in a hide and spy optically on the enemy's postions, (physically there, not using UAVs) then join the combat arms and go Recce. If you want to fly UAVs and gather Int for others on direction, then go Air Force. Essentially, if you want to do 'frontline int' where you are doing information gathering right from the source, it is usually done by another trade. That ends up leaving three fields that progressively get you further out of 'the office' IntOp - TIOC - HUMINT gatherers.

I understand that this post may make you wonder 'why should I even go Int?' Well, Int is pretty cool b/c you deal with a lot of different factors. Us TIOC guys only have to worry about a small slice of the cake while Int gets to worry about it all. Being know ledgable in history and current events in a big plus. My friend went Int (from infantry)and it seems that he is a walking encyclopedia of information, which I find to be cool. I ask him about one little thing and he can tell you 10years of history altering events which led up to that event I questioned about. With the statement that 'Knowledge is Power', Int definitely makes it true. Int is about taking the raw data from other sources and making sense of it. Since you get info from multiple sources, it's easier for you to verify and collate information that is useful.

Disclaimer: I am TIOC qualified but I am not including specialty courses that people can take for OpSec reasons. This was merely a post to illustrate that 'field int' is something not done by the Int trade. TIOC, for those who are by the old books, is the new name for Cbt Int.

Edit: Spelling. I embarrassed myself enough to correct it.

 

[aesop081]

This was merely a post to illustrate that 'field int' is something not done by the Int trade.

The same can be said for the INT guys on the air side.

 

[Spooks]

The same can be said for the INT guys on the air side.

I modified the last post to hopefully illustrate that, CDN.

 

[OldSolduer]

I modified the last post to hopefully illustrate that, CDN.

Advanced Cbt Int here. Jack has it right.

Int Ops mark maps, collate, analyze and all the rest of the Int stuff.

Everyone in the BG is a potential source...not just organizations  but individuals.

 

[Greymatters]

Quote from: Erix1990 on March 08, 2012, 21:10:56


How the heck did you get a quote from a date that has yet to occur? 


Aside from that, former Int Op here.  Adding to the multitude, you spend most of your time in an office, reading information.  If you want to be an Int Op, and be good at it, you better like reading and analysis.  Like already stated, if you want the field work, go Infantry, or Military Police. 

In the previous two decades, there was a lot of work outside the office for an Int Op in the right place at the right time due to many ongoing operations and deployments, but with the reduction in overseas activity and changes in Intelligence back to elemental lines, the chances for field work are a lot lower than they used to be.  Some guys spend their entire careers driving a desk, with the occasional time away for courses or conferences. 

 

 

[Spooks]

How the heck did you get a quote from a date that has yet to occur? 

Um, well, it was a post 4 before my first one, so all I did was hit the 'quote' button on it. Not to be a dink or anything, but March comes before May on a normal Gregorian calendar. If you are simply joking, then I am a dink and I apologize.

 

[OldSolduer]

How the heck did you get a quote from a date that has yet to occur? 

They do it on Star Trek all the time....and March does come before May. We  may be infantree but we r sum smrt sumtymes to. 

 

[The_Falcon]

Hello!

I am interested in applying for the regular officer training program. I would like to give a bit of information about myself to see if I would be eligible/well-suited.

First off, I studied one year of sciences at McGill, hated it, and so I took this year to study arts courses part time. I have now transferred into arts at McGill and will be doing a BA in political science, hopefully with an emphasis on international relations and North American studies. Including the upcoming year, I will have 3 years left to complete my degree.

I am wondering if I would qualify based on academics, and if they would mind only paying for 2 or 3 years of education. My marks were quite good this year...To the best of my knowledge, we must apply by mid January to be accepted for the following year? Or is there any way for the upcoming year at McGill to be subsidized? Can someone please explain what would be the situation with my educational background. Thank you.

I am in great shape (do track etc.), love my country, and am passionate about potentially serving. I need to know, however, more details about the paid education.

I did find this earlier in the thread, but if someone could please elaborate on it and relate it a bit more to my situation (such as when to apply, etc.) that would be fantastic! Thanks!!


"2) You can apply for entry into the regular force under the Regular Officer Training Plan even if you still have some post-secondary under your belt, provided that upon your enrollment, you will still have a minimum of 2 years worth of schooling to go in your degree. Keep in mind that not all schools use the same "credit" system as yours may, so stating that you have 15 credits may be meaningless.

3) Wait until the new fiscal year, and then go into the recruiting centre to tell them that you would like to enrol as an ROTP candidate as an IntO.

4) You incur obligatory service at the rate of 2 months obligatory service per month of education subsidized. "

There are no external positions for either IntOp or IntO for this FY.

 

[Retired AF Guy]

I suppose I should make a note on this (from what I know) since it appears that the Hollywood misconception of Int (in Canada, it's Int, not Intel).

Just a minor quibble the time I spent in Air Force Intelligence were referred to for the most part, as intel, and in rubbed off on us after a while. Minor point, but its just a personal bugbear of mine.

As for the rest of your post, you are right on the ball. As an Int Op 99 % of your time its sitting in the HQ marking maps/updating databases/analyzing information/preparing reports, etc. Another aspect is that the Int trade has become very hi-tech and a lot of your work involves computers, so any computer skills are a bonus.

The only times that I can see someone deploying into the field is if you are a HUMINT operator, interrogator (best course I was every on!), counter-intelligence or possibly psych-ops. Unfortunately, I've been retired for a few years, so I'm not sure what the status of these trades are.

As for the navy, I know in the past Int Officers did deploy with the ships. Not sure if Int Ops deployed with the ships or not.

The only other positions that are of interest are embassy postings, however, those are Sgt positions and pretty hard to get.

 

[Greymatters]

Um, well, it was a post 4 before my first one, so all I did was hit the 'quote' button on it. Not to be a dink or anything, but March comes before May on a normal Gregorian calendar. If you are simply joking, then I am a dink and I apologize.

Ack, I thought it said May, my mistake...

 

[maestro67]

Hey there guys,

So I've spent a day and a half reading tons of forum posts and literature from the forces site...

At first I wanted to be a log officer...but then I stumbled upon the Intel officer (I unchecked the "now accepting apps" on the site). I really really like the description.

Anyway's here's me in a nut shell:
-Recently graduated with a bachelors in commerce
-GPA is abit low (2.97/4.00)
-Fresh outta school and no real professional experience
-I've been reading current events and news publications since I could afford the $$ to (15?)
-I have pretty bad vision, like -6 with some astigmatism
-Physically very fit

My question is: does anyone know if you have to be a current forces officer in another branch/etc to get in? It sounds logical from one post, as you do not want idiots in there who have no idea how the combat arm is done. But at the same time, I don't think I could ever qualify for a combat role due to my vision.
I don't want to send my application in, only to get persuaded/sweet talked into a role I do not want to do. Although at this point, I think I'd really enjoy the logistics role. Lastly, my impressions are that I am either too late on applying and/or it's extremely competitive for officer spots now?

 

[Franko]

Hey there guys,

So I've spent a day and a half reading tons of forum posts and literature from the forces site...

At first I wanted to be a log officer...but then I stumbled upon the Intel officer (I unchecked the "now accepting apps" on the site). I really really like the description.

Anyway's here's me in a nut shell:
-Recently graduated with a bachelors in commerce
-GPA is abit low (2.97/4.00)
-Fresh outta school and no real professional experience
-I've been reading current events and news publications since I could afford the $$ to (15?)
-I have pretty bad vision, like -6 with some astigmatism
-Physically very fit

My question is: does anyone know if you have to be a current forces officer in another branch/etc to get in? It sounds logical from one post, as you do not want idiots in there who have no idea how the combat arm is done. But at the same time, I don't think I could ever qualify for a combat role due to my vision.
I don't want to send my application in, only to get persuaded/sweet talked into a role I do not want to do. Although at this point, I think I'd really enjoy the logistics role. Lastly, my impressions are that I am either too late on applying and/or it's extremely competitive for officer spots now?

Short answer: go and talk to a recruiter.

Regards

 

[maestro67]

Short answer: go and talk to a recruiter.

Regards

Yeah, I guess I will have to send in my application just to get a sit down talk. My local officer recruitment office is not accepting anything but online now...guess they don't want people wasting their time haha.

 

[PuckChaser]

Simple call the 1-800 number, they can tell you right away the requirements to become an Int O (intel is a US term).

 

[zClassified]

Simple call the 1-800 number, they can tell you right away the requirements to become an Int O (intel is a US term).

good luck trying to get  hold of a recruiter!

 

[The_Falcon]

Hey there guys,

So I've spent a day and a half reading tons of forum posts and literature from the forces site...

At first I wanted to be a log officer...but then I stumbled upon the Intel officer (I unchecked the "now accepting apps" on the site). I really really like the description.

Anyway's here's me in a nut shell:
-Recently graduated with a bachelors in commerce
-GPA is abit low (2.97/4.00)
-Fresh outta school and no real professional experience
-I've been reading current events and news publications since I could afford the $$ to (15?)
-I have pretty bad vision, like -6 with some astigmatism
-Physically very fit

My question is: does anyone know if you have to be a current forces officer in another branch/etc to get in? It sounds logical from one post, as you do not want idiots in there who have no idea how the combat arm is done. But at the same time, I don't think I could ever qualify for a combat role due to my vision.
I don't want to send my application in, only to get persuaded/sweet talked into a role I do not want to do. Although at this point, I think I'd really enjoy the logistics role. Lastly, my impressions are that I am either too late on applying and/or it's extremely competitive for officer spots now?

Longer answer is, the requirements are on the Forces.ca website, however Int both Regular Force Officer and NCM are not recruiting off the street, the only positions available are for occupational transfer from other Regular Force occupations, or skilled transfer from Reserve Int.