Ask A Spook! Cryptologic Questions

[Joribear]

My son is currently at RTC and I just received my first personal letter from him. He has a contract for CTR and asked me to find out what he'd be doing as a CTR.

We both realize, of course, due to the classified nature of the CTR that the only way he'll EVER know what he'll be doing is when he's actually doing it. He's just worried that his job will just be sitting at a desk with a computer and headphones on all day.

He's always been an "active" kid - the saying "grass doesn't grow under his toes" definitely fits for him. He originally started his path to the Navy for the Nuke program, but found out at MEPS that he has a tritan color deficiency, so that knocked Nuke out and with a 94 ASVAB, he wasn't about to just do "anything" in the Navy!

Any CTR advise I can give this active young man?

[Barbazu]

I'm not a CT, but I worked with them at Corry Station quite a bit. CTR are SIGINT (signals intelligence). They collect, analyze and crack various types of signals. As far as it being a desk job... ummmm... I haven't been with them in the fleet, but what I've seen of them in their actual training it's very computer intensive and tends to take place mostly while sitting. However, there are some awesome possibilities. I know one guy that graduated A school, went aircrew, and attended SERE training. Now that's some exciting stuff! CTRs can also fill billets for special forces, expeditionary warfare, and a host of other things that'll definitely be more suited for someone that doesn't like to sit still.

CTR, in my opinion, is one of the most badass rates in the Navy. And some of the greatest people, too. I made a ton of CTR friends at Corry. It's a good rate. And could be quite lucrative if he decides to get out and go work for a contractor. That TS/SCI is highly sought after, and SIGINT is a crucial role for national security.

[Joribear]

Originally Posted by Barbazu

I'm not a CT, but I worked with them at Corry Station quite a bit. CTR are SIGINT (signals intelligence). They collect, analyze and crack various types of signals. As far as it being a desk job... ummmm... I haven't been with them in the fleet, but what I've seen of them in their actual training it's very computer intensive and tends to take place mostly while sitting. However, there are some awesome possibilities. I know one guy that graduated A school, went aircrew, and attended SERE training. Now that's some exciting stuff! CTRs can also fill billets for special forces, expeditionary warfare, and a host of other things that'll definitely be more suited for someone that doesn't like to sit still.

CTR, in my opinion, is one of the most badass rates in the Navy. And some of the greatest people, too. I made a ton of CTR friends at Corry. It's a good rate. And could be quite lucrative if he decides to get out and go work for a contractor. That TS/SCI is highly sought after, and SIGINT is a crucial role for national security.

Thank you for your input on the CTRs you've known!

[FlyNavy]

Originally Posted by Joribear

My son is currently at RTC and I just received my first personal letter from him. He has a contract for CTR and asked me to find out what he'd be doing as a CTR.

We both realize, of course, due to the classified nature of the CTR that the only way he'll EVER know what he'll be doing is when he's actually doing it. He's just worried that his job will just be sitting at a desk with a computer and headphones on all day.

He's always been an "active" kid - the saying "grass doesn't grow under his toes" definitely fits for him. He originally started his path to the Navy for the Nuke program, but found out at MEPS that he has a tritan color deficiency, so that knocked Nuke out and with a 94 ASVAB, he wasn't about to just do "anything" in the Navy!

Any CTR advise I can give this active young man?

Hey there! So first off, congrats to your son on joining not only the world's finest Navy, but one of the best communities within it! (I might be a little biased there haha)

So CTR's have a ton of versatility in their jobs. You could find yourself anywhere from a ship, shore duty at NSA, aircrew (although that's going away somewhat soon for the most part), special warfare, and even submarines. If the Navy is involved in it, there's a role for CTRs somewhere in it. Suffice to say that really whatever your son wants to get into, there's an opportunity for that.

**Some duties do require you to have completed your first tour however; special warfare being one of them.**

Job duties wise, CTRs are experts in COMINT (COMmunications INTelligence). Now that can take many different forms, so I won't get into the nitty gritty here. But suffice to say that he'll be doing some extremely important stuff in terms of national security work. He should be pretty excited; our community (CT's) are one of the few where you get to make such an important contribution right off the bat.

Let me know if you have specific questions. Or, if either of you want to ask me something directly or just chat I can get you some contact info.

/r
CTT1

[Joribear]

Originally Posted by CTT1(SW)Griffin

Hey there! So first off, congrats to your son on joining not only the world's finest Navy, but one of the best communities within it! (I might be a little biased there haha)

So CTR's have a ton of versatility in their jobs. You could find yourself anywhere from a ship, shore duty at NSA, aircrew (although that's going away somewhat soon for the most part), special warfare, and even submarines. If the Navy is involved in it, there's a role for CTRs somewhere in it. Suffice to say that really whatever your son wants to get into, there's an opportunity for that.

**Some duties do require you to have completed your first tour however; special warfare being one of them.**

Job duties wise, CTRs are experts in COMINT (COMmunications INTelligence). Now that can take many different forms, so I won't get into the nitty gritty here. But suffice to say that he'll be doing some extremely important stuff in terms of national security work. He should be pretty excited; our community (CT's) are one of the few where you get to make such an important contribution right off the bat.

Let me know if you have specific questions. Or, if either of you want to ask me something directly or just chat I can get you some contact info.

/r
CTT1

Thanks so much! I know he's planning on going to sub school after A school - if aircrew is going away sometime soon, would you recommend him going that route first and then sub school?

He's a bit of an adrenaline junkie (ok, not a bit, a LOT), so I completely expect him to do his first tour and then try to get in with special warfare. He is a "take the world by storm" kind of kid and always has been - we're lucky he didn't end up in trouble with the law growing up! LOL

To give you an idea as to how active he is, he graduated salutatorian with Varsity letters in basketball, track, band, choir, cheerleading (joined cheer because he thought it would be funny, ended up going to London with it...), scholastics, plus was involved in scouts, Civil Air Patrol and community theater. The two phone calls and three letters his brother and I have gotten from him while at RTC all carry the same theme: "I'm bored and ready to graduate A school and start bing a REAL sailor!" WTH gets bored at boot camp? Oh yeah, my kid!!
*Edited to add*
He's in division 919, doing drum line (quads), has been RPO (until he had his wisdom teeth out), AROC and "forward - something" (he said it had something to do with organization of supplies?), so he's picking up extra stuff to do while at boot & is still bored!

[FlyNavy]

Originally Posted by Joribear

Thanks so much! I know he's planning on going to sub school after A school - if aircrew is going away sometime soon, would you recommend him going that route first and then sub school?

Getting a spot on subs will really just come down to if they have an opening/a need for it at the time he's picking orders. My best advice to him is to be vocal about what he's looking to do with his instructors during A-school. If the Fleet is out looking for a new sub guy, they might (no promises though) be able to help him out there! Always be your own best advocate.

Originally Posted by Joribear

He's a bit of an adrenaline junkie (ok, not a bit, a LOT), so I completely expect him to do his first tour and then try to get in with special warfare. He is a "take the world by storm" kind of kid and always has been - we're lucky he didn't end up in trouble with the law growing up! LOL

The specific program he needs to look at is TIO (Tactical Information Operations). The selection process is pretty intense, but it sounds like he enjoys a challenge. Feel free to reach out if he has specific questions; I've got several friends in that community.

Originally Posted by Joribear

To give you an idea as to how active he is, he graduated salutatorian with Varsity letters in basketball, track, band, choir, cheerleading (joined cheer because he thought it would be funny, ended up going to London with it...), scholastics, plus was involved in scouts, Civil Air Patrol and community theater. The two phone calls and three letters his brother and I have gotten from him while at RTC all carry the same theme: "I'm bored and ready to graduate A school and start bing a REAL sailor!" WTH gets bored at boot camp? Oh yeah, my kid!!
*Edited to add*
He's in division 919, doing drum line (quads), has been RPO (until he had his wisdom teeth out), AROC and "forward - something" (he said it had something to do with organization of supplies?), so he's picking up extra stuff to do while at boot & is still bored!

Sounds like he enjoys staying busy! Boot camp can be a little monotonous. It's really all about assimilating you into that Navy mindset, getting adjusted to our culture, and in general just becoming a Sailor. If he's anything like me then he's going to have that kind of "when does the REAL fun start?" mentality all the way to his first command. Once he hits the Fleet though I have no doubt that he'll be able to stay as busy as he wants to.

/r
CTT1