Rear Admiral Jamie D. Kelly (left) and intelligence personnel monitor information in the Combat Direction center about the USS Kitty Hawk.

Rear Admiral Jamie D. Kelly (left) and intelligence personnel monitor information in the Combat Direction center aboard the USS Kitty Hawk.


Intelligence

Job Overview:

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Classification:
√ Enlisted
√ Officer
Available in:
√ Active Duty
√ Navy Reserve

From the Global War on Terrorism to countering emerging regional threats – Navy intelligence is paramount for conducting successful military operations and for keeping our country safe.

Pay:

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Job Description:

Naval intelligence is a dynamic and demanding field at the forefront of today’s challenges to national security. Intelligence – the knowledge based on the collection and analysis of an adversary’s strengths, weaknesses, capabilities, and intentions – is an elite community within the Navy. Subsequently, the community expects the highest level of performance and dedication from its Officers. As a Navy Intelligence Officer, you will reap the rewards of serving your country and work with professionals who steadfastly protect our nation.

What Will You Do?

After graduating from basic intelligence training, you will go on to a 30-month operational fleet tour. The typical assignment is with an aviation squadron or air wing staff or aboard an aircraft carrier or amphibious command ship. Future positions will depend on your interests, background, and performance. You will have opportunities to serve in a variety of sea and shore assignments worldwide. While most career paths are varied, our Officers typically serve three sea duty assignments within a 20-year career. Promotion opportunities are comparable to those in other Navy warfare communities. As part of this occupational specialty, you might be called upon to:

  • Direct operational intelligence support to Navy or joint Commanders
  • Identify enemy assets for subsequent prosecution by U.S. or coalition forces
  • Develop plans for intelligence operations and manage intelligence programs
  • Serve as the Intelligence Officer for Naval or joint special warfare forces or staffs
  • Manage and prioritize collection requirements and resources
  • Analyze the technical strengths and weaknesses of foreign weapons systems
  • Become a Foreign Area Officer or serve abroad as a Defense or Naval Attaché
  • Lead the planning, development, testing, and deployment of information systems crucial to the intelligence process
  • Monitor and analyze maritime activities that pose a threat to national security

Earn While You Learn

Opportunities abound for continuing education and training throughout a Navy Officer’s career. Navy Officers can continue their education by attending one of the military service colleges to study military strategies, tactics and joint operations with other branches of the armed forces. The Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California is also an attractive option that allows you to earn a master’s or doctoral degree while being paid full-time as a Navy Officer.

Special Pay/Bonuses

As a Navy Officer, you’re not only rewarded with an excellent salary for your hard work, but you’ll also receive generous bonuses. Officers can earn additional pay for sea duty or special pay for serving on a submarine.

Skills and Training

After Officer Candidate School (OCS) in Newport, Rhode Island, Intelligence candidates attend a five-month basic course of instruction at the Navy and Marine Corps Intelligence Training Center at Dam Neck, Virginia. There, they receive training in electronic, anti-submarine, anti-surface, anti-air, amphibious, and strike warfare; counterintelligence; strategic intelligence; air defense analysis; and combat mission planning.

After graduating from basic intelligence training, graduates then go on a 30-month operational fleet tour. Typically, these on-the-job training assignments allow them to lead Sailors and supervise the collection, analysis, and dissemination of intelligence critical to their command’s mission.

Career Outlook

Upon completion of an operational fleet tour, new Officers will have opportunities to serve in a variety of sea and shore assignments worldwide.

Intelligence Officers provide a variety of support services to other defense missions out in the field, both tactical and strategic, for air, sea, and land operations. These support services can include analysis of potential long- or short-term threats to national or international security, managing intelligence data and providing information deciphered from documents or monitoring enemy movements throughout a region.

There is a four-year active-duty commitment after commissioning and a four-year inactive reserve requirement, for a total commitment of eight years.