I have a question regarding my contract. My rate is CTN and I'm going in as an E-2. I have an A & C school in my contract. One of my enlistment guarantees is "Training in the Advanced Electronics Field (AEF)... and advancement to paygrade (E-4) per MILPERSMAN Articles 1160-040 and 1510-030." My recruiter just told me I would automatically get E-4 after completion of A-School, but after reading 1510-030 there seems to be a few catches.

On Page 8:" ... c. Personnel are authorized guaranteed advancement to E-4
after successfully completing “A” school or advanced training
required to attain rating designation and after serving 6 months
TIR as an E-3. The following must also be completed or obtained
prior to advancement to E-4:
(1) All requirements completed for advancement in rate;
(2) Performance appraisal review;
(3) Command officer’s recommendation. "

If I'm reading this right I won't get E-4 immediately upon completion of A-school, since I'll be an E-2 during A-school and won't have fulfilled the necessary 6 months TIR as an E-3.

Was my recruiter right about getting E-4 immediately upon completion of A-school or is my reading of MILPERSMAN correct? Also, is it normal to get Command officer's recommendation if you get good grades and graduate?

I forget which MILPERSMAN article it was in, but I read that A-school for CTN's is in and of itself considered advanced training, and as such rewards an NEC to it's graduates. Does this mean that CTN's with a C-school would get two NECs somehow? Or just the initial one, perhaps?

Thanks for any help you can give!

So a couple things here...

Your recruiter is both right and wrong at the same time. Yes you will be a push-button 3rd class, but you WILL have to have TIR to get promoted. That's standard for any automatic E4 in the Navy regardless if you're a CTN, Nuke, whatever. The part about the CO's recommendation, you don't need to worry about that part. The command will get all the needed paperwork together, as this is a normal occurrence and there are gonna be plenty of other people in your same position. Once you get the TIR out of the way, it's a pretty simple process to get your crow.

Before CTN A-school was JCAC, it was a series of Network Analysis courses (BDNA, IDNA, ADNA). Those I believe did grant an NEC for some reason, but now that all those courses fall under JCAC, I don't believe you'll be getting an NEC just for A-school. C-school though, yes.

/r
CTT1

Ahh, gotcha. Just to clarify though - that TIR will have to be as an E-3, not E-2?

What can be expected as far as sea/shore duty and/or deployments. Typically how long would we be apart in the CTI rating and assumedly where are stations for middle eastern languages. How much work does the Navy CTI do with the other branches as well. Will you work with Army and Airforce or almost exclusively Navy

CTIs don't have a sea/shore rotation, just an in CONUS/out CONUS one. Sand languages go to Georgia. There are opportunities for aircrew (need to be in good shape, pass aircrew and SERE school), dirsup (short term assignment to ships, not ships company), and subs (males only), but it'll come down to needs of the navy. Those kinds of assignments are mostly navy, but shore duty is mostly joint.

Recently got this question in my inbox:

I went to the recruiter today and i am dead set on CTM but they said i need to be a little more open for them to send me to MEPS... I want to be in the CT field and i want to do hands on work... What does the CTT Rate do and what can you tell me?

Thank you
Alaina

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As a T brancher, you're definitely going to be getting to do hands on work. If getting into the circuits and chasing wire's (as well as operating the Electronic Warfare suite) is something that you'd be interested in, then I would consider the AEF route in the CTT rate. AEF is for the 6yr contracts for Sailors that undergo additional months of technical training to be able to troubleshoot the internal electronics of our systems.

Even as just an operator tough, I was constantly working on everything from the circuit cards to our chaff launching system, to the antennas. So either way you go, you're going to be hands on with your equipment.

Overall, as a CTT in the AEF pipeline, you would be doing just as much tech work as a a CTM, just on a different system. The bonus of being a T branch tech though is that you get to actually operate the system you're working on. You'll not only be able to repair the equipment, but you'll also be involved in combat operations for the ship. CTM's don't really role in operating the equipment they repair or manning a combat related station.

/r
CTT1

Bump

Thank you very much for this thread.. I leave for Boot January 6th as a CTN. Doing all the research i possibly can because even my recruiter couldn't tell me much about my Rate. You're tidbit on CTNs is the most i've found, and now i'm even more excited to start my career and life in the Navy

It's an awesome rate. The only draw back is that you don't travel as much as the other CT types, but you're quite literally going to be making a difference in National Security from day one. Its a massive responsibility.

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CTT1

Bump after some CT related posts :)

If you have specific CT questions, place them here!

/r
CTT1

So as some one in the Persian-Farsi course right now they do not consider it Arabic... at all. They do group it in the sand language group with MSA arabic and the 3 main dialects, Dari, Urdu, Pashto, and Hebrew. All that it means is Ga. PF is not a bad deal. I enjoy it a lot and we have one of the nicer group of teachers. Anywho. When your sailor arrives here they can request to change while in indoc and if available they can change. We had a span go to korean and an arabic go to spanish and others have changed serveral times. It all comes down to scores. Any more questions that I am able to answer for you I will. Soon to be out of monterey though, thank god!

That... that's wicked cool. My wife and I are weighing out all of our options, and we've agreed that we're totally cool with the needs of the Navy. However, we realize that while I'm good with Asian languages and have lots of Asian friends who teach me things here and there, being stationed in [REDACTED 1] makes seeing both of our families slightly more, uh, freakishly expensive. Outlandishly expensive, really, and I don't think I've ever used the term "outlandish" in a more appropriate sense.

[REDACTED 2] is closest to my family, which would make visits infinitely more possible, but everything I've heard about being stationed in [REDACTED 2] is "well, it is what you make it." I'm not good with Arabic-oriented languages, but I can learn. My wife and I have lived in a very tiny 3-room apartment with no sink (long story) for 2 years, so we're gonna have a good time anywhere, but still...

Not really a huge fan of Spanish, and I'm not big on vodka so Russian also feels pretty "meh" to me. To those ends, being stationed in [REDACTED 3] doesn't accomplish much. It's near some of my wife's family that she doesn't really know, so it gets a point for functionality, but altogether I'm mostly torn between [REDACTED 1] and [REDACTED 2] to raise a family in.

It's quite relieving to know that if we come to a decision, there's a tiny tiny tiny chance that we could request a change.

Any idea what scores typically get a switch approved?

Joe,

I would hit up Jzhaun, as he is our resident CTI. I work with CTI types, but I don't know enough about your A-school to answer that as well as he could.

====================================

I also recieved the following message in my inbox and am replying here;


The rates you mentioned were CTT, CTI, and IS. So I'll hit them in that order.

CTT: T-branchers are the Navy's Electronic Warfare experts. On ships we are responsible for Anti-Ship Missile Defense (ASMD), as well as Electronic Intelligence (ELINT). We use and maintain our equipment to monitor radar signals from ships, aircraft, shore sites, and missiles, and in some cases deny the use of these systems to our enemy. Shore side you would be working at a NIOC doing the same thing minus the ASMD part. As a whole, CTT's can get stationed on ships, ashore, on subs, and attached as Aircrew.

CTI: I-branchers are the Navy's language experts. They cover all different kinds of languages from Russian and Chinese to Spanish and Arabic. There are entire ranges of lesser spoken languages in there as well. CTI's spend most of their career at a NIOC and alternate CONUS//OCONUS duty stations. Your designated language will dictate where you get stationed (certain languages go certain places obviously).

IS: IS's work with what we call "All-Source" intelligence. Where the CT community are the technical experts, IS's are responsible for the bigger picture to include trends, historical relevance, and geo-political landscape. IS's spend quite a bit of time preparing briefs for senior personnel and going over the myriad of reports from other organizations. They are also responsible for Human Intelligence (HUMINT). IS's are stationed on larger ships typically and on shore sites around the world.

On the topic of auto-rank, that all just depends on how long you're in training for. The whole reason they bump people up like that is because they spend so long in training. If they didn't they would significantly be behind their peers career wise. So it's kind of a way to balance the playing field career wise. Different rates and specialties are in training for different time periods, so it just depends what specific program you land in.

/r
CTT1

It's not going to be about your scores. I mean, if you have a 100 and want Arabic that's probably not happening, but as long as you're within the range they don'tt care. What it's about is luck. Basically it's the same as a Dar - somebody didn't show up and now there's a slot. It's only going to work for languages that they're currently filling classes for, which are usually but not always the same languages they offer you at boot camp.

As far as languages go - Russian guys go to Maryland first tour. Sand languages tend to be more of a gamble (less people pass) but also make more money. I would always recommend to go with the language you like best though, because in my experience, most people who aren't interested in their language for its own sake don't pass.

Ps-person asking about ranking up as a cti: we get e2 at the end of boot camp and e4 at the end of a school.

While it may be obvious in most cases, lets stay away from mentioning what specific assets are being deployed where.

/r
CTT1

CTI enlistment bonus
 

What is the current 11/3/2014 status of the CTI enlistment bonus? Not the school loan program but the EB per the 1/24/2014 message promulgating the CTI-ATF bonus paid upon DLI A/F school completion? Thanks!

As far as I know CTI bonuses are based on whatever language you are assigned and they fluctuate frequently.

Jzhaun is our local CTI and could shed a bit more light on it for you.

/r
CTT1

Edit: answered question, I should actually finish reading a thread before asking a question, an novel idea.

I was offered 10k or LRP upon signing my CTI contract in April.

Haha no worries. I've done that here as well.

/r
CTT1

Bumping up. Seen a few CT related questions pop up recently.

/r
CTT1

Will holding certifications in computer networks and security from companies like Cisco and CompTIA help in advancement or command placement? I've been studying Network+ and Security+ for the past 2 months, but will not pay the $264 for a certification test if it holds no bearing in the Navy. I explored the Navy Cool website, which list all the civilian credentials/certifications related to the CTN rating. The Navy also gives out exam vouchers to pay for these certifications.

As far as command placement, it won't have any bearing.

As far as advancement though, it will give you a huge leg up on your competition. It won't grant you additional points or anything, but you'll be ahead of the curve knowledge wise for sure.

/r
CTT1

Seen a few CT questions lately. Bumping this thread if there are any more!

/r
CTT1

I received this question via PM:

CT's going into the Spec Ops world do so under a program called TIO (Tactical Information Operations). You're not going to find much information out there about TIO due to the obvious classified nature of the job.

In a nut-shell though, SEALs are the ones trained to go in and get the bad guys, while there will almost always be at least 1 CT with them to handle all the secret squirrel intelligence stuff. The operator side of TIO goes out on the missions with them, while back at base there's also CT analysts waiting to pour over the intel that comes back. So there is a CT involved with both phases of the mission.

TIO is typically something you would start looking at after you've been in the fleet for a few years. It's very rare they would pick someone up right out of A-school. You need to be in Spec Ops shape and have some experience doing your job. A seasoned 2nd Class Petty Officer in prime shape would be an ideal candidate, although a motivated candidate could possibly get picked up sooner. You can either talk to your detailer about applying, or depending where you're stationed, a TIO recruiter might come by looking for interested candidates. Either way, you're going to need to be the one who's tracking people down for information and to apply.

Below is a link with a brief description of TIO
http://www.public.navy.mil/bupers-np...s/1306-984.pdf

/r
CTT1

Bumping, as we're having CT related questions again :)

/r
CTT1

Do you have any info you could share about 451 for CTRs?

Could you elaborate a little more on this for me? I'm pretty sure you're asking about NEC 9147, but just wanted to make sure.

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CTT1

Yeah I'm new at this and im trying to know what I canand can not say publicly. ( I rather be told what I can say, then what I can't say after it's been said) But my class right now is 450, and they say if you do good enough you get a chance to be picked up for 451. I'm not sure if it's the same as the NEC or not.

That's probably the code for the class itself. If you can find out the actual NEC then I could fill you in on what I know.

/r
CTT1

Alright this thread has be great to read. I have definitely learned a lot. I'm curious as to the polygraph stuff. I have heard both ways, some say you will take one some say you won't and its just a scare tactic. Anyway to settle the debate?

Yes, the class does give you the NEC code 9147. Who usually gets orders to go to this class and would you suggest trying to get it before going to the fleet if I can, or should I try to get some experience first?

You're only going to get one if you're going to command that requires you to have one done (IE most NIOCs).

CTI's and CTN's pretty much work there exclusively, so they'll get theirs done eventually. If they can get them done at boot, then great. If not, they'll get it done while in holding before start work at their command.

As a T brancher that was heading to a ship, I didn't have to get one done until I came to shore duty. Same with R branchers; they won't always be required to have one at every command they go to.

/r
CTT1

Army has the 35P which is the equivalent to the CTI rating.

I know within the army they have support roles for special forces and what not. Things like SOT-A.
Is there an equivalent role for CTI in the navy? if so do you know anything about the process to become qualified or to simply volunteer?

The CT community has something we call TIO (Tactical Information Operations) that supports NSW (Spec Ops). It's a very tight knit community and they can be pretty choosy about who they take and who they don't.

Once you get through A-school and have settled in at your command, just ask your chain-of-command about getting in contact with one of the TIO recruiters at your site. They'll fill you in on specifics. It's not something you can do right out of A-school though and they typically want you to have some experience doing your job before they pick you up. You'll also need to be in pretty good physical condition as well.

But yes, we do have something like that and it's totally doable if you're willing to chase it down.

/r
CTT1

Greatly appreciate the response and information. So psyched something I can work towards.

I was with one of my TIO folks earlier today and he confirmed you actually need to do a full tour as a CT before you can apply for TIO. So just a heads up there.

/r
CTT1

This is not about CT, but IS. Do you know where most IS end up getting stationed after they finish A-school? Do they usually deploy or stay on shore?

CTT1,

When you say a full tour do you mean a deployment or a full contract length.

For us it really depends on your NEC. but the billets are pretty split 50/50 for shore and sea. one of the perks for us right now is we pick our billet so near the end of A school they line all the actives up outside by grade order. Highest grade going first. we then pick from a list of billets they give us. Granted we get the list a day prior so we do a mock run when we come in later that night but anyways each billet has the NEC with it. you cant pick your NEC then your station. each station has what NEC it needs. but because we are a 6 year contract they will get a sea and shore out of you. count on that.

Also we go to C-school. All IS's go to C school right after A school.

Without being classed back the whole schooling takes between 6-9 months. again, depending on which NEC school you go to