Ranger Intel Community

[fender]

Just wondering if there were any members of the Rangers that are in an MI MOS (specifically 35F, but information from everybody would be appreciated) on the board, and could possibly give me a little feedback on the Ranger Regiment from their perspective. I am mostly wondering about deployment.

Here in our unit we could provide the commander with intel all day, but he just makes decisions based on his gut feeling it seems like. I would really like to actually contribute to a unit, as opposed to showing up to work for 12 hours and reporting the news/completing crosswords.

I know some of the "fuck it" attitude that this unit has plays into the whole "end" of combat operations in Iraq deal, but I believe it is unacceptable to have extra soldiers sitting around when they could be somewhere else putting their skills to use.

Aside from the Ranger Regiment, what other good opportunities are out there for intel soldiers? (I know about Project Foundry, but most of the courses seem like "check the block." If anybody here has completed any Foundry courses, and found them useful, please let me know which ones!)

[K.Ingraham]

Get into the 75th and do well. Once in the SOF community, provided you excel, the offers will come your way.
Plus, you'll see for yourself what might be a good mutual fit. Meanwhile, in our regiment, you will learn more & learn it faster than anywhere else. While there, you'll be providing real product for soldiers who will need it fast and accurate for real missions. Iraq might be winding down, but the 75th isn't. Rangers have been deployed constantly since October 2001 and this isn't going to change.
There's really nothing else that can be said on the WWW except that job satisfaction is high in all corners of the Regiment. You ready ?

[snafu]

Ranger K.Ingraham nailed it. I worked closely with our intel guys on my last deployment. They are amazing at what they do and you bet your ass they are used. A Ranger private intel analyst can look at his commander, say, "hey sir, we need to go here and take care of (fill in the blank)"...and we are moving in minutes. Stay Ranger if you get in...you'll love it.

[Terrence_87]

Thanks Rangers,

I needed this affirmation. Now, I know for sure that I'm going to wait around for 35F w/opt. 40 to open up for me. For damn sure.

-Terrence

[LostintheSauce]

I am also considering doing Military Intelligence after (hopefully) serving some time in the Infantry. I am also seeking information about the role of Military Intelligence officers in the Regiment.

[CloakAndDagger]

This is a fairly interesting post that you guys dredged back up. MI is a great job, but it also offers plenty of "career hazards". For example, it sounds like Fender is a current MI soldier looking to get to the 75th. Unless he has an extremely exceptional command, he will probably have extreme difficulties in getting into any military courses other intelligence and NCO professional development (well, being that he's in the 25th ID, he might get an Air Assault slot... Wait? Why are you Rangers snickering? ).

Now on the other hand, as Echo Two One somewhat referred to, there are plenty of infantrymen who re-class to MI. Now, I haven't seen them around here in awhile, but I know we have a couple of former MI Rangers on this forum, and I wouldn't be too surprised if they did the 11x opt. 40 first, then found their way into a Ranger Battalion S-2 shop, then finally got MOS qualified as 96B (old designation) / 35F. This is, by far, the best route to go if you want MI and Ranger, but still involves a little bit of luck to hook up with the S-2 shop.

Now, getting in a 35F opt. 40...Wow, best of luck to you! Be prepared to wait a long, long time for even one slot to be offered (if it actually exists at all... we're talking mythic status here). The only Opt. 40's we had during my stay at AIT were the 96R's (not even sure if that MOS still exists under another designation), no Opt. 40's that were analysts of any flavor or even CI's.

I'm not even sure about the practicality, physical fitness wise, of a 35F opt. 40. For 35F (at least when I went through as 96B), you have a 16 week course, with about 1.5 hours PT/breakfast/clean-up, 6-8 hours classroom time, 30-60 minutes lunch, 30-60 minutes dinner, maybe 2-3 hours Drill Sergeant/platoon time, 2 hours study time, and 7-8 hours of lights out, leaving you with 1-2 hours of personal time, if you're lucky. A re-class, on the other hand, would gain back most of that 2-3 hours of Drill Sergeant/platoon time.

(Please note: I make no clam to be a Ranger. These are my impressions from my time in service as a "leg" 96B, and from conversations with Rangers, both on this site or in "real life").