Ask A Spook! Cryptologic Questions

[FlyNavy]

Originally Posted by Haasino

Sounds like regular college when I was getting my bachelor's... lol.

^^^ haha

[FlyNavy]

Bumping for new members

/r
CTT1

[friedsteak]

Shipping out soon as a CTR.


As a junior CT going surface, what's the likelihood I'll go on small decks vs a carrier?

I'm on the fence about subs, if I don't volunteer will this negatively impact my career?

Is Aircrew closed to first enlistment CTs?

How competitive is TIO?

At the time of reenlistment, do you get to choose your next command? Say a sailor has been DIRSUP for X many years and now they want to be stationed at an NIOC, is it likely the Navy will accommodate them? I want duty at an NIOC at some point in my future career so I can better transition into a three letter agency after service, but I want to travel and experience the Navy's many platforms beforehand.

[FlyNavy]

Originally Posted by friedsteak

Shipping out soon as a CTR.

Congrats! It's an awesome rate with tons of opportunities to do cool sh!t!

Originally Posted by friedsteak

As a junior CT going surface, what's the likelihood I'll go on small decks vs a carrier?

Something that specific is really needs of the Navy at the time you're up for orders. But there are more small boys than big decks, so if that's what you're looking for then it shouldn't be that hard.

Originally Posted by friedsteak

I'm on the fence about subs, if I don't volunteer will this negatively impact my career?

CT's only go on subs as part of DIRSUP (direct support). They're their own community in their own right and not being part of that won't affect you negatively at all. DIRSUP shops are part of NIOC's, so you would be there and deploy out as needed to do your mission work.

Originally Posted by friedsteak

Is Aircrew closed to first enlistment CTs?

Aircrew is totally open if there's spots available and you can hack it.

Originally Posted by friedsteak

How competitive is TIO?

Highly. Think less "competitive" though and more "selective". To be eligible for TIO you need to have at least 1 tour as a CT before hand, so this is closed to first tour Sailors. Once you're eligible, you would submit a package and a TIO recruiter would be in contact with you. You would need to meet SpecWar physical standards and they also comb through your entire life (it gets down pretty personal). Even if you meet all that criteria, you have to be someone they want in the teams. If they don't feel like you're the kind of guy they want with them while they're getting shot at, then you aren't gonna get in no matter how qualified you are.

Originally Posted by friedsteak

At the time of reenlistment, do you get to choose your next command? Say a sailor has been DIRSUP for X many years and now they want to be stationed at an NIOC, is it likely the Navy will accommodate them? I want duty at an NIOC at some point in my future career so I can better transition into a three letter agency after service, but I want to travel and experience the Navy's many platforms beforehand.

DIRSUP shops work out of NIOC's, so you would be killing 2 birds with one stone. At a NIOC you'll also be working closely with three letter agencies, so you'll have plenty of time to network and get a feel for everything. If you have some longevity in your Navy career as a CT, you're definitely going to end up at a NIOC at some point.

In regards to orders; when your first contract is up, that's when you contact the detailer (guy who sends you orders) and you negotiate with him based on what's available, what you're qualified to do, and what you wanna do career wise.

/r
CTT1

[FlyNavy]

CT's as a whole are the technical side of intelligence (hence the SIGINT aspect). Where IS's think about the big picture, we're down in the weeds looking at actual signals, 1's and 0's, you name it. So just in general, focus on your technical skills first before going off and doing high-speed stuff like TIO, Aircrew, and DIRSUP. If you're weak as a CT in tech skills then you aren't worth much lol

/r
CTT1

[jzhaun]

DIRSUP shops work out of NIOC's, so you would be killing 2 birds with one stone. At a NIOC you'll also be working closely with three letter agencies, so you'll have plenty of time to network and get a feel for everything. If you have some longevity in your Navy career as a CT, you're definitely going to end up at a NIOC at some point.

Mileage may vary here. Where I work, the DIRSUP guys are a completely separate facility and don't interact with the rest of us very often. I doubt most of them have been able to network much.

[friedsteak]

Thanks for your reply. I won't wrap my head around it too much, since it won't be up to me but it sounds like an NIOC gives a wider range of job knowledge? Being a good sailor is definitely higher on my priority list than traveling.

[FlyNavy]

Originally Posted by friedsteak

Thanks for your reply. I won't wrap my head around it too much, since it won't be up to me but it sounds like an NIOC gives a wider range of job knowledge? Being a good sailor is definitely higher on my priority list than traveling.

Being at sea (or in the air) is the best way to learn. The more time you spend ashore the more your skills will languish. Unless youre one of those weird linguist folks ;)

[jzhaun]

Originally Posted by CTT1(SW)Griffin

Being at sea (or in the air) is the best way to learn. The more time you spend ashore the more your skills will languish. Unless youre one of those weird linguist folks ;)

Yep, the reverse is true for us. Dirsuppers on long deployments have a much harder time maintaining their languages since many of our resources are only available on shore. I will find a way to deploy at some point though. It's going to happen.