sympathy? When did I ask for it? This is the wrong job for sympathy.

 

I am a retired MI Army Warrant Officer. In the Army you are a combat soldier first and your specialty second. Its rare that you are deployed in an intell position and not do your job but on occasion you may have to perform the role of a combat soldier; always remember, "For the needs of the Army." This clause over rides any contract you may have with the Army. Basically the Army can move, retrain and extend your tour to meet mission requirements.

I loved my experience in the Army and the MI Corps and you can make a great living using your clearance in conjuction with a college degree. The only issue that I had with working in the MI field, that no recruiter pointed out, is the shift work. Intell is a 24/7 mission so you will be working some unusual schedules. There are two missions in intell, tactical (combat) and strategic. Strategic is in an office environment, tactical is in a field enviroment....as we say playing real Army.

Unless it has changed, if you go in as a commissioned officer, you will have three branch choices (Finance/Military Intellegence/Artillery...); I believe two have to be combat arms and one support. All officers have to be able to obtain a secret clearance. Usually most males will begin in a combat arms branch and switch over to a support branch based on their performance, recommendations and degree.

My best advice is to go to the nearest base or fort and ask if there are any retired/active officer associations and attend one of their meetings and solicit their advice.

Good Luck and thanks for considering serving your coutry.