More CTN Reserve Questions
 

I had to enlist in the Reserves due to my age. I hope to go active eventually, but I hear that's difficult. Anyway, my question involves my annual training. I've been told by my recruiter that I can, in many cases, choose where I want to go. What are some options for a Reserve CTN for annual training? Also, as a reservist, will I have the opportunity to volunteer to fill billets in other parts of the world? And, one more question, is it possible for a CTN reservist to go FTS? I know IT can, but I wasn't sure if the CTN skillset can be utilized for full time support. If it makes any difference I'll be in Millington (hope that's not an opsec infringement).

As far as AT goes, it will depend who technically "owns" you (aka what billet you're filling). I'll give you an example:

Of our reserve sailors in Texas, one was billeted to support Hawaii. So for his AT, he would fly out to Hawaii to support their mission for his AT. The rest of the folks were billeted to NIOC Texas, and would do their AT there.

A few things come up during the year too to support other things like different exercises or events and what not, which can sometimes count towards AT time. But as a junior sailor, bet on your AT being at your nearest NIOC facility. You'll probably do your two weeks at NIOC Georgia or NIOC Maryland. You'll know more once you report to your reserve unit though.

On the FTS front, there are no CTN FTS billets. So that's not an option.

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CTT1

If you're in Millington, you're going to be part of Region Southeast. So I would bank on AT going down at NIOC Georgia over in Augusta, GA.

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CTT1

Will there be many opportunities for me to travel? I know it's probable that I will be mobilized at least once in my enlistment, but from what I understand, I will most likely stay stateside.

Mob's (Mobilizations/Pronounced like Mobe) aren't terribly common for reserve CTNs, although you certainly can try to take long term orders somewhere.

CTNs unfortunately travel the least maybe out of any group in the Navy. Due to the fact that the things you need to do your job are only located here at home. There are also a few other complicated reasons I can't get into as to why CTNs don't travel, but suffice to say that you guys work out of NIOCs for a good reason and sending you abroad just wouldn't make sense.

Active duty CTNs have some limited options to escape stateside, but it's usually senior people and for limited durations. (Outside of something like TIO).

***A little background on me: I was the LPO of a CTN division doing cyber work for the last couple years. It's a little rare for a CTT to be doing that work but I had a unique skill set and was in the right place at the right time. I worked closely with both active duty and reserve CTNs.***

There will also occasionally be mob opportunities that you can volunteer for as well. Keep your ear to the ground, check your email, and work with your Chain of Command to track those down.

You're still gonna have some cool shit to work on during drill weekends though, don't sweat. CT's are one of the few rates in the reserves that still actually have a job and contribute something meaningful during drill weekends.

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CTT1

I'd like to see some different parts of the world, but I'm just honored and thankful that I get to be a part of the worlds greatest Navy! Even if it ends up being 20 years in the reserves. Thanks for your help!

Anytime!

CTN is a badass job dude. You'll love it.

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CTT1

This is more of a reserve related question than a CTN specific question, but I'm curious. Can a reservist fill mobilization orders outside of their rate? I mean, do they even offer those types of things? I'd be willing to scrub toilets in London if the job became available.

When they put out mobilization opportunities they will also include a list of rates/ranks they will accept to apply for them. The only ones that are typically really exclusive are any CT, spec war, or flying mobilizations (for obvious reasons).

So yes, there are opportunities to do stuff out of rate.

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CTT1

Awesome! I've been married 9 years and I have two kids. I've done so much gross stuff... I'll wipe asses if I get to go to Australia. Haha! Already done it in Arkansas.

I'm in a similar situation as Barbazu. 33y/o joining the Reserve as a CTN. Just completed my Master's in Cyber this week and obviously already have a B.A. Decided to get a M.A. in Cyber to do a career change. I don't have a TS or any IT experience or any Certs yet so I figured now would be a perfect time to serve and have those taken care of in a career I see myself doing well in (and trying to get into).

So I'm doing a delayed entry...I am also going to put together an officer application to see if I even get selected. My question now is, if by some select chance I do get picked up for OCS, do I still get that technical training (A & C school) that I would as a CTN? I was also told (by my recruiter of course) that it's also possible that if you do well in A/C school you can begin putting together and officer package. Is that true?

Keep in mind my age, which I know is running out for officer, I guess I'm wondering how many chances I have? Also, would I get that same technical training to make myself more marketable in the civilian side as an officer as I would enlisted?

No, if you go to OCS, your enlisted contract is basically voided.

You can apply for a commission at any point in your career. Selection boards are held throughout the year. Some people apply many times before being selected.

So the age requirement is basically for anyone who has never-served and trying to get in, correct? I could be 40 and apply for OCS is what it sounds like.

Thank you Guppy.

Also, if my Officer app gets selected, I completely miss all the technical training as I would get as an enlisted CTN, correct?

It depends on what designator you are trying for. Most designators cap the age at 35, but depending on circumstances age waivers may be available..

Correct, if you become an officer you no longer are a CTN, the only way you would get the training is if the selection process takes long enough that you are already in school, and even then, they may pull you from school dependi on your OCS date.

Awesome, thank you for the clarification.

Does anyone know what kind of certifications you can end up with by the time you finish A & C school for CTN? Or do those come later?

I was ready about that Navy COOL certification program which seems like a nice thing to have access to when in the Navy.

I figured I would continue discussion in this thread rather than making a new one or bumping an old one?

At the end of initial training I don't believe you have any actual certs. BUT once you end up at the command we're going to send you for all kinds of shit.

CTN's are some of the most highly trained people in the Navy and a lot of your skills transfer over to the civilian world. Personally I got trained for or obtained a CCNA, CEH, CPT, and a few other specific certs I can't talk about here during my time working cyber stuff (was working out of rate, but was the LPO of a CTN shop).

Don't stress about certs. You'll be more than trained to get whatever you want to get and will be some of the most sought after recruits in the industry should you choose to get out.

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CTT1

Is that all true for Reservists, too? Will I end up with a bunch of certs?

You could, but you won't go about getting them the same way.

For AD folks their shops will send them to these schools when they can. For Reservists though, those schools would need to be done during your AT.

Once you get to your command start working with your Chief and LPO about seeing which schools you can get put in for. You'll have what's called a CDB (Career Development Board) around the time you show up, which is just a sit down to talk about what kinda things you wanna do in your career and what goals you have. So getting some schools on that CDB helps put into writing the things you want to do/places you want to go.

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CTT1

Great stuff, thank you.

Really excited about CTN, but like the other guy, I'm also going in Reseves so I'm a little nervous about getting the cert and ongoing tech training that AD might have the luxury of having.

I do have the benefit of living in northern Virginia just a stones throw from Andrews, NSA and all the other lovely places to ply the trade.

Do you think with the area I live in that will give me an added benefit? Plus I just finished my cyber masters last week. I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row to make sure I'm as marketable as possible on both sides, military and civilian.

And sorta off topic: is there a thread to discuss life at A/C school for CTs? Day to day life, class, study time and just sightseeing (aka beach :outtahere: )

I've been at a school for 2 months and still haven't seen Pensacola Beach.... Haha it's a lot of studying

Nice. We will probably be there at the same time.


So, I ship to basic Sept.14,16 then head to Corry Station for my 30 weeks of training for CTN. They offered me what I wanted right away (I signed and swore in yesterday), they didn't even ask if I had a plan B if it wasn't available. I was honest with them on the first day at MEPS but I had to come back the next day because I was waiting on a dependency waiver so they knew what I wanted and remembered me. I think I was the only one that processed that day that had that easy of a time. I scored really well on the ASVAB (92) so I don't think they were going to waste time asking me for anything else other than what I wanted. I also got a nice sign on bonus which was unexpected (looking at you, recruiter).

They tried to get me to leave in June but that was to soon, we are moving to a new house in 4 weeks and would have killed the fam if I shipped out in the middle of it. :D

Can't say how excited I am, aside from being proud to be a new Sailor but to get what I wanted with no tug of war was a great feeling. My wife with a CTI so we are a family of Cryptos :P

Man, we have the same story. Haha! I had to get a dependency waiver, I'm going reserve, I'm going in as a CTN, I scored a 92 on the asvab, they tried to get me to leave in March but I couldn't (because I'm finishing up a semester of college) so theyre shipping me in May... Crazy.

haha that is crazy we have almost exactly the same story.

So you ship in May as in next month?

Good luck man, I think I will see you there too. I will be there in October if I'm not mistaken.

Another question came to mind:

During A and C school commitments are their other courses I can add to my curriculum in addition to my mandatory classes if I wish? Or is everything standard for everyone during that time with no changes? Perhaps after C school if I am eligible I can stay for additional training?

Are there C schools for CTNs? I thought they combined them all into JCAC. I know there's no C school in my orders.

C Schools may/often come later in your career.

Not reallllly for N-branchers. But don't sweat that, you're going to get sent to all kinds of training anyway. Most of those classes aren't formal Navy schools though, hence why you don't get a C-school. You'll typically get TDY (Temporary Duty) orders to a different things they need to send you for based on what you're doing.

Not all CTNs do the same things; in some cases they can be dramatically different. So before they send you to any extra schools they need to see where you're gonna land at you duty station first. Once you get there you'll understand why that's the case.

Couldn't remember if you were a reservist or not. That would change things a bit, since you would have to push your command to go do some schools, probably during your AT. But that doesn't mean you can't do them; you still totally can. We qualified reservists on different things all the time.

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CTT1

I'm also a Reservist CTN and ship out in September. I checked my contract and its as he said, C' School is optional/may be required but not actually official like A' School is.

I really hope I can opt into further training as often as I can but I'm not entirely sure how that works: If I wish to get specific training, what may or may not prevent me from getting that additional training that is relevant to CTN as a reservist?

There really aren't a slew of C-schools to send you guys too. Honestly most of your training is through other organizations. You really don't need to be stressing not having a C-school; in your rate it doesn't mean nearly as much as it would to say an engineer or something.

Really as a reservist it just comes down to what your unit's budget for AT is. Be persistent with you CoC about getting training and eventually you'll get to go. Just depends on money and timing mostly.

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CTT1

I'm going to be at Andrews AFB right outside of DC. I think I'm in a prime spot, at least I hope so and that is one of my motivating factors. In other words, I'm in the perfect spot to be doing what I want to be doing and I hope that's the case.

Definitely a lot of opportunities up there being so close to the Mothership! A lot of things I saw came up were opportunities in that area. Shouldn't be too hard to find if your patient and pounce on them.

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CTT1

So a lot of the issue as a reservist is that when you first come into your NOSC you're IAP (what that actually stands for evades me right now) But it essentially means you aren't attached to any billets. Meaning the NOSC you drill at is also your command. So if you're like me who initially got sent to a NOSC without any CTNs in it previously they have nothing for you to do. So you apply for billets in the CTN field and you hope you get picked up. Most CTN billets are for E4 and up and you can go on up and one down.

Once you get picked up in a CTN billet (if you get picked up) then you have a chance to do CTN things.

When you get to Corry all the CT reservists will get pulled out of indoc to have a meeting with a CTTCS he may be master chief by now that will tell you that if you aren't doing your job in the reserves to contact him.. He will give you his card. KEEP IT!!! I had to call him multiple times before my billet started sending me somewhere to actually be able to do my job !


CTN3 Harris

Interesting.

I know a guy that works at a 3 letter agency that knows the Detailer for all Navy CTN's. He is going to try and arrange a meeting/connection between himself and me so hopefully that works out and I can start doing some networking ahead of time. I don't like the sound of not having something lined up by the time I'm finished with A school.

There's more than one person at NPC doing CTN detailing lol Also talking to your detailer isn't a huge thing; they have their desk phone numbers posted on the NPC site and their direct emails are in the GAL. It's pretty easy to get in touch with them if you need to.

However, it's considered very unorthodox and borderline unprofessional for a first tour sailor to be circumventing the process and trying to have something "lined up". There is only a handful of spots you're even eligible for as a 1st tour sailor anyway, so the hook-up value there is pretty low to begin with. If they need your input then they will ask for it in most cases.

Just some words of wisdom. I would tread lightly there as a screw up in front of the wrong people in the wrong places can follow you for years to come.

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CTT1

PS: CTN3 pretty much summed up the process. Your CoC should be helping you out with the billet application process though. It's easier than it seems and there's ways to work the system if need be.

The point of meeting the detailer wasn't to "line" anything up from that point of view, its more to see what kinds of opportunities a Reserve CTN might have in the years to come, especially a new one plus answer any questions I might have.

I didn't elaborate clearly. Since I'm a Reserve, I do want something lined up be it military side or civilian side, I won't be picky but not being active duty I don't want to risk not having something full time when I'm done with training. I'm still learning how this works and I have a decent network pool to tap into in the DC/NOVA area to connect me with people for advice, not necessarily jobs.

A couple Reserve people (not CTNs ) I've spoken too, (also my recruiter) all claim I can begin applying to civilian jobs when I'm in A school since the process takes time and I can say I finally have a clearance, etc. That's why I want to have a chat with a detailer to see what options someone like me could potentially have. I don't like the idea of waiting until the end of A school to get my ducks in a row. That's just not me.

From reading this it sounds like you think a detailer can get you a job outside the Navy? If so that would be incorrect, aside from maybe a reference (which you could get from anyone). If you want to look at job options for your civi job I would be talking to folks at your eventual command. You should have a rough idea of where you'll be ended up anyway, so if it were me I would be contacting them for a sponsor and then leveraging folks at the command for job tips. Most of the folks in your unit (NIOC) will most likely have come from the active duty side there anyway and a solid handful will very likely work there as civilians still. They should have a plethora of contacts for doing cleared work in the area.

Also as a reservist you're not going to be dealing with a detailer in the same way active duty folks will. So keep that in mind.

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CTT1

I wasn't expecting to a detailer to help me get a civilian job :D

I wanted to talk to one simply to get an understanding of what a Reserve CTN's early career path might look like or how to make myself more competitive for when I'm able to start applying for different roles (and how long that path might take). Of course I'm not naive enough to think "getting in" with a detailer is what I'm trying to do. I literally have not IT/military background so its entirely new for me so a couple nice contacts to chat with over coffee is all I'm looking for :)

I know I'll be at Andrews AFB but haven't met anyone in my Unit yet. My recruiter is supposed to try and connecting me with fellow CTN's so hopefully he keeps true to his word on that.

Interesting on the last sentence, can you elaborate why that might be different? Thanks!

What I'm saying is that a detailer is not the right place to be directing those questions. They just fill billets, that's it really. It's like if I wanted to know how to be a good aircrewman, but went and asked the guy who writes the flight schedule. Sure he might have some input, but that's not the right place to be asking that. Also in most cases detailers are E7 and above that are usually pretty swamped, so again that doesn't make them ideal people to go to for that (especially as a brand new sailor).

Who you need to be talking to is your Chief (or LPO). They will have been there already, will know all the right people (especially in the Reserves, trust me. All the IDCRC Chiefs know each other for the most part), and will know how to set you on the right track. Also considering these are the folks writing your evals, it makes even more sense to chat with them.

As far as getting in touch with them, don't rely on your recruiter to do that. What you need to do is contact your NOSC and ask them to put you in contact with one of the CTN Chiefs or 1st classes (any of the CT's at NIOC will do really). I don't have my Homeport access anymore, but my best guess is that your NR NIOC unit probably reports to NOSC Washington DC (All the reserve NIOC units are subordinate to their local NOSC). So I would give them a call (try the admin dept maybe) and see if they can get you a contact with one of the CT's over at your eventual unit. Their FB lists their number as (240) 857-8947/8948

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Also, I was the LPO of a reserve cyber/CTN shop for 2 years. I have a wealth of knowledge about what you'll need, where you can go, how to get there, etc, etc. I've done everything from your evals, AT, going on orders, getting schools, etc. If you want to chat offline just send me a message and I'll get you my contact information.

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CTT1

I'm at Corry Station right now waiting to badge/class up. Corry is awesome! But the common story from absolutely everyone I've ran into is that JCAC is nearly impossible and to be prepared to fail. I've talked to three folks this week that have been rerated because they failed out of CTN school. It's gonna suck. Start studying now.

JCAC isn't impossible by any means. A lot of times when someone is dropped, it's more due to poor study habits than an inability to understand the material. You just have to stay focused and make sure you're getting your work done and you'll be just fine. Also, when they say don't do stupid shit, they mean it. Underage drinking, etc. are great ways to lose your spot in JCAC.

This. I am a bright kid. I scored well on my ACTs, did well in school.
I was dropped from CTN school.
I just didn't study 'right'. I put the hours in.

JCAC? Not sure what that is to be honest.

So, for all future JCAC students... I made it to Mod 2 and I'm probably getting dropped. CTN is difficult. They throw so much info at you that if you're not a super fast learner then you're screwed. My advice is to study up on logic and programming. Particularly C++. The programming part isn't that difficult (for me, anyway), but the logic stuff is ridiculous. There is a 40% drop out rate on the second mod. It's serious business.

I'm sorry to hear that bud =/ Keep pushing if you're still in the class though. Don't give up!

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CTT1

I am a Software Developer, web development in particular. I didn't even
know C++ was still being used in the real world. I learned it in college
but soon realized that Garbage Collection Languages like C#/Java are
far easier and have just as much access to the hardware, I think.

I really don't know much about Networking though. I do know that I depend
on Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services or Google Cloud to defend the
software I write and deploy to their servers. I just assume if someone tried
to hack anything i made these companies have people far smarter than me
to defend the code. I really don't know much about networking though.

I do wonder why C++ is still being used by the Navy. Hmm. idk

C# and Java are great to know as well. But most serious exploit kits and malware today, at least at the high cyber crime and nation state level, are typically done in C/C++ and assembly.

Although I did see this Spanish dude at DEFCON made a really badass java botnet haha So it's not impossible.

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CTT1

Well I will be there in about 3 months. :D


Looking forward to the fight, though.

Ive been looking at Quizlet to see what kinds of terms they are getting into during the different mods. OBVIOUSLY I'm not assuming that quizlet is the end-all source for what JCAC is all about but it gives me a pretty good sense of what each module is going to cover.

lol i have a feeling some peeps have been busted posting some classified stuff on there

Most of the JCAC material is unclassified so it is not that people would get in trouble for posting classified info per se but more so that it could be looked at as cheating depending. They take cheating very seriously at JCAC and will academically suspend anyone even suspected of cheating whether there is credible proof or not until final determination is made. If theyou determine cheating took place then you are automatically dropped and potentially face administrative action which can result in getting kicked out of the Navy. At any rate, JCAC is hard but not impossible. I struggled for the first few mods, Mods 2-4. I double tapped Mod 2 and was fortunate enough to get a 2nd retest which I barely passed but once I got my study habits down better I was able to make it through with very little trouble. It is all about how well you take in information quickly and how well and how much you study. Discipline to making it through JCAC is the single biggest factor on whether anyone will make it or not, as everyone sent there has the aptitude for it.