Should I enlist 35L and do G2G, do ROTC, or enlist and work my way up to warrant officer?
I am currently in the process of enlisting in the Army. I have 87 college credits, with a 2.5 GPA. I scored around a 130 on all my line scores on the ASVAB. I am solely focused on doing Army Intel. If I enlist I will choose 35L, counterintelligence. I certainly would rather be an intel officer, rather than lower enlisted. I have taken the LSAT and did very well. In the future I would like to apply to an intel agency with a law degree (paid for by the GI bill). Reading online about OML points, I’ve learned that GPA is extremely important in branch selection. I have already given my transcripts to my recruiter. If I transfer to a new school and enroll in ROTC will my GPA count against my OML if the university has a policy that the GPA does not transfer? If I choose the green to gold non-scholarship option and attend that university would my prior GPA count against my OML? How competitive is the intel branch for ROTC? If I graduate with above a 3.6 would I likely get it? Would enlisting and first and doing green to gold increase my likelihood of getting an intel branch? Would my prior MOS help me get intel branch? Is enlisting as e3 and just working up to warrant officer a better option? Again, I am solely focused on working in intel.
If your goal is to be an AD Army Intel officer, the most certain route would be to access into an intel MOS that is a feeder to a warrant MOS and go that route.
However, commissioning for active duty is competitive, the reality is, a 2.5 GPA, will you be able to be at top of the class? For active duty there’s no guarantee your branch. But warrant is a great way if you wish to focus on intel field and just do that, it is also an officer position but does not follow the usual officer route and needs, so you see a lot of people with significant experience in what they do, whereas officer 2LT or 1LT often are younger folks that just got a degree. You could be in any unit that might not be MI. The idea is that you are leading, so your MOS won’t matter, warrant is more speciality officer in a certain field.
Either way you need a completed bachelor degree, or higher, so get the benefits and finish school, preferably higher than 3.5 GPA.
I will say, it doesn’t work the same for reserves. Because you can get a guarantee reserve contract, ROTC become officer and get degree, and go back/go into a MI unit, I’ve seen people at one unit, did that, literally moved away to be closer to a MI unit to join them. But that’s also personal preference. MI is more of a military thing tho, (duh!) civilian intelligence aren’t easy to get in, with your current qualification (I’m assuming you are younger?) it will take a lot more to be part of it, depending on how your resume is, but warrant MI is almost guaranteed spot in civilian intel if you retire especially.
I’m just playing the devils advocate, I have a college degree so I know how one class one assignment can mess up your GPA. As far as specifics, go to a nearby ROTC or find someone who was in ROTC and ask.
Keep in mind, NG or reserve is a lot less pay and benefits (school benefits too), and you will need something to do full time. You can go to school and fix ur GPA but that can be done on AD as well, or do that switch to AD, or stay reserve and get warrant, I will say both get up and downs, reserve things work slower and less focused on your job, but lower enlisted AD, there might be bullshit work too. I’d find a warrant in intel that was recently completed and ask. Reserve gives you time for school but without actual civilian intel experience there’s no reason to stay reserve, some usually already got a intel job or was AD and switched
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Look through these....
wet publishing law hornbooks - Bing
Hornbooks & Treatises any of all of none of not all of is - None - Concepts and Insights Concise Hornbook Series Hornbook Series Practitioner Treatise Series University Textbook Series
I can tell you, after long reflection, has I been enlisted first, I'd have adjusted far more readily to where I'd wound up, and been far more thoroughly prepared for the role...look also at the state defense forces (SDF), which are very real militaries, they're not an exact substitute for the Federal.side, our dentist went into the NY Guard (NYG), the NY SDF, at my suggestion, then went NY ARNG, NYG released him to go, I'd wanted to do NYG, I couldn't as I'm total perm disabled, NYG insurance rules wouldn't allow it, I did try, though, you can't be deployed, though you can be sent anywhere in your state, I've gathered, I also think there are sometimes disaster relief things in other states as well, though I think you'd be asked to volunteer for those, NYG was used by us for both 9/11 and Hurricane Sandy, few tend to try them to see how they adjust to the life before Federal, has I known NYG existed, I might well have gone that way first, just to learn how to function in a mil organization for real, Army ROTC wasn't enough, nor was USAF OTS, those I'd trained with at USAF OTS who'd been prior enlisted, in all svcs, all had prior enlisted there when I was there, all generally fared and adjusted far more rapidly that I did, as I'd said, honest, just another thohght, of course....
SGAUS – State Guard Association of the United States
State Guard Association of the United States
This is rather lesser known than the ROTCs, obv....
US Marine Corps Platoon Leader Course: What You Need to Know
The Marine Corps Platoon Leaders Course (PLC) is an alternative for NROTC or OCS for college students who wish to become commissioned officers.
I'm not saying you'd wanted any of those, I merely posed them as alternate possibilities, honest...this site with the forum pages, might also be useful as well....
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