Moms of IS (Intelligence Specialist) sailors.

Better than CTM? CTMs are good too and we used to have some Cripty-Critter moms on this page since it is about the closest thing to IS. ripty-Critters, Spooks all welcomed here. :-)

Velvet, it depends on how he wants to plan his route. If he has the finances and wants to go in with a higher rank (entry officer) he might want to get his degree first. If he wants some experience, maturity, and money for college then enlistment might be his better choice. He can work on college courses while he is on ship or at shore duty although for ISes it can be difficult. It is a small group so they are on call a lot. My son's priorities also are not on college but on learning all he can about various cultures and the areas he visits and lives in. So it simply depends on your sailors' interest as to which path they wish to take. As purplegiraffe says, it's more ASVAB scores and a good, clean background.  

Hi Sara's husband - My son is in "IS A" school now.  How worried should I be?  He plans on making the Navy his career. 

Is there one specialty in IS (NEC) that is more stable than another?  He is thinking about imagery.

Thank you for your help.

Thank you Sara's hubby & Purplegiraffe for the insight.  He has a lot to think about. 

My son will be finishing "A" school soon.  His "C" school class may be on hold for 4 months.  What the heck will he be doing for all of that time?

Hopefully not forgetting everything he learned!

Lol...Laura, I remember worrying about "forgetting" as well when my son came out of boot and I asked if he would remember all that about tying knots etc. A school is an introduction and brief overview of each sub specialty. Without getting too involved here they have a system set up where each sailor can go back in and review all s/he has learned. Once C school begins it's kind of like a whole new subject anyway. One of the reservists described it as A school on steroids! teehee

Stop worrying about what a sailor does while on hold. At least they are safe and you pretty well know where they are while they are in school. Everything becomes just a little more frustrating again once they are out in the fleet. Not as bad as boot camp (although I have not heard from my son now in almost 3 weeks) but certainly not as cheap nor as freely as school or duty at a stateside station. It's all good and most of them understand the lifestyle when they sign on. We must assume that by now we have raised them to take care of themselves.

Laura,

What Mary said is so true.  And the school has a way of keeping their sailors busy while on hold.  They will have some odd jobs to do around the school building and barracks while they are waiting.  It may not be glamorous but the Navy knows what happens with idle sailors!!!!! 

Thank you ladies.  I hope they keep him really busy so he doesn't fall into a bad formula...

18 year old sailor + vehicle + free time = lots of debit charges in town!

Might be partially my fault.  We went to "Bad Ass Coffee" when we visited him and now I think he is addicted to the stuff!  LOL!

lol...I know just what you mean. My son was that way, even without a lot of free time. They all insisted that the galley was not a good place to eat so off to Harpoon Larry's or some other restaurant he and friends would go for dinner on Fridays, Saturdays, and any other time he could. I think the swordfish sandwich at Larry's set him back around $10.00 each time. He finally learned by C school to hold a bit of money but only after spending a lot on junk. After doing that a few times he has begun to learn. Now I must teach him the difference in a good bargain and throwing his money away. Things in SE Asia can be bought relativly cheap but made cheap too. Things in the Middle East are quite expensive, especially things like small sculptures of landmarks and anything wet like water, beer, soft drinks.

They have to learn though based on rate of exchange at that time...

Laura,

I hear you Mom!!  I wonder when they outgrow that formula and the idea that money is never ending.  With all the lectures Dad has given all the kids, we just don't see them setting money aside in savings.  Then when something happens like car repairs or something they don't have the cash and have to use credit.

Why don't they learn?!?!?!?!

Mom2aSailor...warn her about the cost of living over there. I don't know specifically how it is where she is going but my son spent a couple of days in Bahrain before going to his ship and he has ported a few times in Dubai. They can really rack up some expenses there pretty fast when they are competing with the oil sheiks.... Just a word of caution to her.

ashlay, WELCOME!!!! So glad to see another IS! As far as I know all the IS schools are at DN. Once you complete A school you will have the opportunity to look at the subspecialties. If your work leads you into other areas where you need more advanced training then the foreign language school is on the West Coast (last that I heard, and there might be some specialized training at other areas as well). It is totally dependant on your specialty. For the time being I would concentrate on Dam Neck, seeing what is there in the IS field, and then make an informed choice.

Sorry that's about all I can give. We really don't know that much about what you will be doing, I can only go on what other moms have said in the past or the bit that my son will tell (which ain't much.. :-D ). Just remember that for as long as there have been spies, there have been counterspies, double or triple agents, moles, decoys and everything imaginable. It's a broad world of possibilities. In the end, you are filing the needs of the Navy.  

ashlay- my husband is an IS, if you wnat to tallk to him send me a messge and I'll give you hiw cell phone number and youre more than welcome to text him with any questions!  sorry for bad spelling my son is climbing all over me!

sent you a message!

Congratulations Mom2aSailor!!!  Enjoy your visit with your girl.  I can't believe they are making her leave for overseas on Christmas Day.  Couldn't they have waited one more day?!!

Enjoy every minute!!!

Congrats Mom2aSailor!!!!  Enjoy your two weeks w/your sailor!!

Have a wonderful time with your son!

Mom2aSailor, congrates! You now have an official IS. Enjoy your time with her and though it will be hard, celebrate Christmas early and know that she will be able to enjoy her gifts and you can have fun with preparations together. My son came home for Chrismas last year for the first time in three years, but I was in the hospital almost the entire time he was home. It was not enjoyable for any of us. He is trying it again this year!

So far it has been better. I spent the first day in the hospital in Jax, Fla while trying to get my nephew onboard the Bush to do a Tiger Cruise. The ship's commander allowed Chris to remain at the hospital with me rather than reboarding the ship so it was a very cramped ride coming home, but he is at his house, getting settled in for his leave. I on the other hand, will jump online to watch the homecoming in a little while so I can see what we all missed this morning! from the comfort of my living room. :-)

Have a great day all. Dyon and Anna...great to see you two back over here!

DASALL, Ground is the least talked about as well. There is not much info on it an I think if he asked for ground then you will have to trust him on that. I think that would be a good concern for you to address with either one of the instructors who happens on here now and then or someone here who has a family member in the Ground sub-specialty. Good luck with it all. He will do fine or the Navy would not allow him to do the job.

DASALL- my husbands best friend is ground. It was my understanding that you have to ask for ground and then be chosen for an interview and then either be accepted or declined, maybe that has changed though. My husband knows a little bit about it and his friend could answer any questions you have after he gets back from leave (after christmas) from my husbands friend's experience it seems like he graduated C school and got stationed where we are in Maryland and has been here now for about 7 months. He is either going to be deploying in January for I think about 6 or 7  months or he'll go in October. I think the deployments are much like most sea duties, about 6 months out of every year, the difference is that they usually are in more dangerous countries instead of on a ship. If you want to ask my husband's friend any questions feel free to send me a message and I'll have him reply when he gets back!

I am so thankful!  My son finished "A" school and came home for Christmas today!

Yea Laura! :)  What a great present! :)

Hi Ladies!  My son is IS Ground also.  He had to request to be considered for one of the 2 available spots while in A-School so that if he got it that's the training he would receive for his C-School.  He has completed A & C schools and is at his first duty station now.

Happy New Year <3

Brooklyn,  You are signed up for 6 years (they say that because of the length of your school, you will be in an extra 2 years-so they call it training) I was too for CT school many years ago.   What this means is that you will be at Dam Neck for about 4-7 months for school, then they will most likely give you a C school -should be at dam neck also- could be 2 months could be 6, after that school, you will get your first duty station.   I am not positive about the ATF, maybe someone else can help with that.   Maybe it is an automatic C school. MY son is leaving for bootcamp in June then IS school after wards and it doesn't say anything about his school or ATF>   good luck!!  

Hi Brooklyn & welcome to the site.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to not make any plans with specific dates once you start "A" school.  My son finished "A" school right before Christmas & he was fortunate enough to be home for Christmas.  That being said, everything else is up in the air.

He is now on "hold" waiting to "class up", in other words, waiting for his "C" school to begin.  Not only doesn't he know when "C" school will start, (could be anywhere from 1 - 4 months) he doesn't know which IS speciality he will be given.  Some specialities are in school for 2 months, some for 4 months.  I believe ground is even longer. (someone correct me if I am wrong)

He scored extremely high, and he does have a wish list, but nothing has been determined yet.  The IS field is now considered overstaffed so they are not letting sailors begin "C" school until they have somewhere to place them.

I tell people it is like an airport...can't take off if you don't have a place to land.

He loved "A" school even though he said it was like taking a final exam every week.  He is extremely happy with his choice of going IS but just anxious to start "C" school.  He isn't used to having down time.  Good luck! 

Hey Brooklyn! welcome to the group :) I hope you enjoy being an IS, it's a great rating!  My husband is an IS and seems to like it. His hold between "A" and "C" school was about 2 months and his "C" school was the longest one there is. good luck on advancement though as the rate is now locked and after making E-4 the chances of my husband advancing again in the next 4 years is slim to none so he is looking to cross train into a different rating. Any way, if you have any questions about anything feel free to message me and I can give you his cell number! he has been an IS for just a year now and keeps up to date pretty well on everything that's happening/changing in the field. Hope you enjoy the navy!

My son is at Boot Camp presently and will PIR on 02-12-2011.  When he enlisted there was only one opening for IS at the time so he left his college semester and took it.  I am hoping this was a good choice - he scored 97 on his ASVAB and could have had his choice but this was what he is interested in.  It is discouraging to read about the overstaffing and hold ups in ranking up.  He is also an E-3 because of his college so it will probably be the same situation as you Brooklyn.  Good luck - when do you leave for basic?

Brooklyn- my husband is Imagery, he seems to like it but I know he'd like ground better. I know I am just fine with him being an imagery analyst, ground is too dangerous! haha feel free to message me any questions!

My son is in the fleet, has been for a little over a year as OpIntel. He has learned a lot and being on a ship has seen a lot. One thing they learn is to go with the flow. The Navy will use you where they need you! They just lost a couple people in their group so I wouldn't be surprised to see some new C school people being assigned to a ship! Also, he and another shipmate both made E4 within a year of graduating from C school...

Thanks for the info Kim - that is good news.  I know the military will use them where they need them.  I am a planner and that would be hard for me, however, my son is such a "go with the flow" person that it is perfect for him.  He says he is "Easy like Sunday morning"  :)  

Sunday morning isn't easy in this house with 6 kids to get out the door for church! LOL  :)

We have 6 kids too, fun times on Sunday Morning!  

Some days I wonder why we even bother, by the time we get to church, I am definitely NOT in the mood!!!  :/

I'm an IS wife, welcome to the group! He doesn't get to pick his C school. He gets to request one via a dream sheet, but ultimately he'll go where the navy needs him. To be honest, ground itself is not dangerous. What you do when you get ground is up to what the navy needs. You could be sitting in an office all day and have a sea duty on a ship and never see sand or anything of the like. Or you could be deploying to dangerous areas with groups that do dangerous things. It's just luck of the draw. 

Hi Stephanie and welcome to the group!  First a word of advice...You may have joined additional groups, girlfiends, bootcamp, etc, and that is great but keep in mind that the Navy for Moms sites are monitored and what you say may effect your sailor, especially when he is in boot.

Try to avoid using his first name on the sites.

It is also a good idea to change your photo to one of just yourself, or of something random.  If a link can be made to identify him to you, then he may be held accountable for the things you post.  I know it sounds crazy but it happens.

My son was never a straight "A" student in school.  He excelled in the things he liked & took a back seat to the things that didn't interest him.  He loved the IS courses & finished "A" school in the high 90s.

The best thing that you can do to help him prepare for IS is to find a study method that works best for him.  He will go through times that feel as if he is taking a final exam every week!  But he will make it!

Oh, and have him learn Powerpoint forwards and backwards and learn as many advanced tecniques as possible!  Good luck to him!

Best of luck to you Brooklyn!!!

Fair winds and following seas - - and thank you for your service!!!!

My son PIR's on 02-10-2012 - I was mentioning some of the discussion in this group to him.  Can anyone advise me to give him tips on which part of IS he should try to go into - i know they don't get any type of guarantee on their wish list, however, he wants to be able to advance - he is already an E3 because of his education when he gets out of basic

Memphis Mom, he should read the job descriptions of each. You are correct in that they have no say. My son graduated A school and by Saturday was on a list to start C school on that Monday and it wasn't on his wish list. There are so many variables and things change so quickly that I don't think anyone can predict what would advance him faster. That is one thing I have learned, don't have any expectations because it will change on a dime! We all just go with the flow! Good luck to your son! Mine loves being an IS!