As a Navy Linguist / CTI, what are the chances I'll end up in a dangerous war zone atmosphere?

Question

I got a 119 on my DLAB which means I'll be placed in the most difficult languages at DLI, and will probably learn Arabic.
Which also probably means I'll be going to the middle east.

Without revealing any classified information, can you tell me what life would be like, should I end up in Iraq? Will I be kicking down doors and interrogating people nonstop, or will I be listening to radios/intereference/etc in a desert tent?

I'm not really scared. Hell, I could get hit by a bus tomorrow and die, but I'd rather prevent that from happening for as long as possible. I'm just trying to gauge what I might be experiencing so I can mentally prepare myself before I ship out.

Thanks...

Thanks for all the great answers so far!
I *am* female & I'm 29. I've wondered if I would be limited in my job placement/deployment countries because of the cultural differences towards women in some of those places. I'm aware of the restriction regarding subs.
I don't expect any problems as far as my own personal behavior and am ready for the challenge & opportunity before me.
I really do think I'll enjoy school and DLI and whatever language I end up in. I hope I'll be in my element, this job seems a great fit for my personality, work experience & personal interests. Also, to work/live with others like me sounds great.
A couple follow-up questions...what's "regnav" and what does it mean to "deploy TAD" ... ?
I'm learning many acronyms in this research I've been doing, but haven't caught on to all of them yet.
I've heard that many CTIs spend time at Forts Meade & Gordon, but I've read more CTI Arlings are being deployed to Iraq now than in years past.
Anyone have personal insight here?

Answer 1

Monterey is a blast!
RTI School is a real SOB, long hours, lots of info, stuck in the middle of nowhere.

I Branchers do air, sea, and sub duty, embassy duty, stateside duty and covert ops. As a female you will most likely be geared towards stateside duty or in posting to a friendly country overseas. Although I have heard of some female I branchers doing sea duty on temp detachments, it's not really common. The high DLAB got you into DLI but it won't steer you towards any particular language.
When (or just before) you get there they will give you a 'dream list' of languages to pick from (1st choice, 2nd and 3rd) but you may NOT get the one you pick. Your language assignment is guided by personnel openings, projected needs and events occurring around the world. With all the stuff happening in Russia, you may end up with that language.

I would reccommend Russian to get the best duty assignments (Europe and Japan if overseas, Ft Meade Md if stateside); Chinese (for the best promotion chances and the highest need in the coming decade - but it is HARD), Arabic/Farsi if you want a chance to get involved in interrogation and active combat operations (usually from a distance, but I had a few close calls in my time, and CTI personell do get killed from time to time, in fact CT/ET personell killed since 1950 number around 5,000 or so).

Keep your language skills up above minimums, stay out of trouble and take EVERY chance you get to deploy TAD and I guarantee you will go far and have a great time. I went in as
an E-1 and made E-6 in 5 years, 8 months (and with NO brown-nosing, in fact avoid that as it will come back to bite you when your shipmates have a chance to get you for it).

Also, try to get stationed on an AirForce base if you can (there are several CT sites on AF bases worldwide), the Air Force has much better housing, bigger PX's and commissaries, and since you're 'regnav' they don't screw with you as much, I spent six years (my DIRSUP period) on an Air Force TAC fighter base, and it was smooth.

If you are eligible for DIRSUP (Direct Support) as I was, the minimum language skill requirements are higher, and you will need analyst and writing capability (as well as being able to translate on the fly in real world situations and keep your cool when things get hot), and you must be prepared to deploy anywhere at anytime - for about 2 1/2 years my seabag was never unpacked, it was always loaded with my trip stuff, with room at the top to throw in the seasonal uniforms). I finally got out because of not having time with my wife and two baby sons, they both learned to walk and talk while I was at sea.

One thing to remember, on some trips you will be travelling with Marines whose job is to keep you from being captured or kill you to prevent your capture - CT covert ops are no BS job, this can be serious stuff, so don't take DIRSUP if you are not willing to live in that environment. We always made huge efforts to befriend the jarheads, while they always tried to avoid us, made for some interesting days!

Oh! One last thing, take a camera to sea, you can, and you can usually use it in all but a few settings, after the trips you will have a hell of an album (my pics fill 5 albums - everything from carrier landings to russian spy ships alongside (( with 200 or so of our guys mooning them in formation!)) to artillery
duels and porpoises jumping.

Stay clean and have a great time!


Additional :

You've got some great answers to go by. I looked thru them but I didn't see the reference to 'Arlings'. You may know already, but it is actually 'R-ling' (short for Russian Linguist), I don't know about the situation right this minute, but whenever we went TAD on a ship, there was an "r-ling" on every trip except two, they had much more "opportunity" to deploy than most language branches.

One final note - if you're interested in it, the field of analyst/report writer is very much an interesting job, it used to be the domain of CTR branchers for the most part but if you score high enough on your written tests, you can get into it as an 'I' brancher. I spent most of my shore duty time as an analyst, and ended up being assigned to a duty station as senior analyst. Being eligible for PANDR (Processing and Reporting) opens up a whole bunch of additional duty stations that you normally might not get thru your language.

Answer 2

That is one of those questions you will never know the answer to until you are ALL done with your language school and you have orders in hand to go to your first command. You are female so I would guess a little less kicking in doors and a lot more talking to people in controlled areas or listening to audio transmission. YOu can do both of those things there or here. It is all up to the Navy and where they need you, but you never hear about all the CTI's that got killed today. It is usually the Hospital Corpmen and SEALS that get killed usually. You should have the time of your life in school in Monterey, CA and wherever you go after that even if it is Iraq. How many people do you know that can talk to the enemy and know they are saying? Also, you will see the world that is pretty cool too. Good luck.

Answer 3

You are assuming that an "I" Brancher is going to be used for interrogation and (therefore) will be somewhere in an area where we have captured people. Maybe so. Maybe not. There are a number of fixed shore facilities that "listen" to the "other side". And some ships with that capability as well. Admittedly I served alongside some CTs during the Cold War, so my experience may be a little dated. But, if being less than 500 meters from a whole lot of Soviet warships while you are on some "spit kit" that couldn't fight its way out of a saloon is not "being in a war atmosphere", then I don't know what is. Our sister ship wasn't so lucky. She was captured by North Korea and is sitting as a museum in Pyongyang.
So, as far as your involvement in this war, I see most of the peril in being on board some ship that is tracking some cells of Al Queda who have performed Hijra and are living in Beyit Al Shuhada ashore, while planning some terrorist actions.

Answer 4

You'll probably end up like me stuck in a windowless concrete bunker in the middle of an urban area working 12 hour shifts 3 on 3 off.

Do good in your school and you will have a safe job, screw up and be a pain to your instructors and you might be talking to the people after the infantry has kicked their doors down and drug them out of the house.

The government wants to protect their investment in you so don't worry too much. Life is cool in exotic lands.

Answer 5

CTIs do NOT interrogate. you will be stationed either at Ft Meade or Ft Gordon most likely and you will be sitting in a room all day long with headphones on.

there is the possibility of deployment, of course, but you most definitely will NOT be kicking down doors or questioning suspects or even walking around translating for the General. But since DLI is going to probably be a year long or more, worry about that when you hit the Fleet.

ETA: PH is right, DIRSUP is the bomb. that was my husband's first duty out of OCS and it was great..all the benefits of sea duty without the pitfalls. TAD: temporary Additional Duty. simply means you will be away from your Command doing something else. REGNAV: the Fleet, the real Navy, where you won't be a student any more you will actually be doing your job.

as for which language, with that score, you are talking a Cat IV language easy. Russion, is NOT in very big demand, although I must admit that while we were at NPS(also in Monterey) I did know a CTI who was taking Russian..he was a mid level E6 who scored *sweet* orders to Moscow. Misawa is one AF base that I can think of off the top of my head: Aircrew DIRSUP, in Japan. If you like snow, you will LOVE it there. We preferred DIRSUP out of Yokosuka. closer to Tokyo.

Oh yeah DIRSUP: Direct Support: shore duty..that isn't. you basically go when and where your skills are required. depending on the Command's policy, you could be assigned to a specific ship or squadron(sorry, no sub duty for you) and only go when that ship needs you. you will have the same DIVO, Chief and LPO each time the ship gets underway, but the rest of the Team may vary with mission requirements. OR you could be tossed in a pool of bodies and when your name comes up..off you go. (this could mean you NEVER leave..or that you are NEVER home) Although you will never be PCS Afloat( Sea duty) you will most likely be allowed to pursue your ESWS quals. same with AESWS if assigned to a squadron. Just be aware that that will most likely only happen for you during a six month deployment, it isn't something that can be done in a couple fo weeks. Of course,your odds go up if you are assigned to a specific command for the duration of your DIRSUP tour. DH's ship out of Yoko..all but one of his people got their ESWS during the deployment they were on.

ETA(A): A/ ESWS: Enlisted Surface Warfare/Aviation. these are basically snippets of EVERY aspect of Ship/squadron function, performance/ability..basically you would need to learn a little bit about everything so that theoretically, if you were attacked, you could man any station temporarily in an emergency(every other rating was dead or injured). It's a very big deal and pretty much mandatory for all sea going ratings to ever make it past E6. for a CTI, it just means you are a Kick butt Sailor who is willing to take on collateral duties, and that ALWAYS looks good on an eval.

Answer 6

Congratulations on your DLAB score, really, you did a fine job. Arabic or Chinese, thats what it will probably come down to, im not going to make any promises but since your in the Navy you could end up bunking with the Marines. You probably will end up in a city because so much has to be done with civilians and those are the most important areas, its hard to tell. Good luck and im so proud of you!

Answer 7

Man or Woman?
Men have more options, men can support other types of operations where woman are excluded, such as submarines. Not trying to be sexist, but it is a fact of the military.

I've come across several CT's who have only ever supported submarines.

Hopefully CT's get on here to give you the best answers. I get only a small glimpse of them.

Answer 8

I hope you like hot dry climates.....

As a linguist you will probably not see any real combat. You will be working in a fairly comfortable environment listening for intel.

Answer 9

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