Hmmmm.

[winterbadger]

So, something else had me looking at Navy websites, and I think, "You know, the Army Reserve and National Guard recruiters are always telling me that their cutoffs of 29/34 (USAR commissioned/enlisted) and 35 (ANG) are hard limits. But what about the Navy Reserve?....

If you're between the ages of 21 and 38*, you can begin the experience of a lifetime in the Naval Reserve. Your local Naval Reserve Recruiter can answer your questions and prepare you for a basic aptitude test (ASVAB: Armed Services Vocational Abilities Battery) that will help to determine how your skills will best be used in uniform.

*Maximum age limit can be waived in many situations. Check with your local recruiter for more information.

(Italics theirs, emphasis mine.)

Officer Opportunities: Intelligence

Intelligence officers are the technical experts in the collection, analysis and dissemination of information that directly supports the intelligence requirements and needs of operational warfare commanders. Advanced systems and analysis techniques are used to locate, identify, analyze and disseminate real-time intelligence information. Typically this includes using tactical and space-based imagery, computers, radar, acoustic sensors and electronic signals surveillance to analyze intelligence data.

BASIC EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS:
A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution is required. You can, however, come from a wide range of technical and non-technical academic backgrounds, including political science, engineering, computer science, history, physical and natural sciences, and the liberal arts with emphasis on language skills. Degrees in veterinary medicine, theology/divinity, any of the healing sciences or music are not accepted. You should possess a balance of experiences that demonstrate strong leadership and technical skills related to either military or civilian intelligence occupations. Additionally, expertise in foreign area studies, international relations and languages is desired.

Hmmmm.......

Comments

No.

[mazzie.livejournal.com]

Why would you sign up to get paid poorly and shot at?
Have you not heard enough stories abouu reservists in Iraq losing their homes here in the States because they left their jobs and the Reserve pay isn't enough to cover their mortgage payments? this is not George W. Bush's Reserve, wherein one could hide oneself safely away from conflict. And intellegence! Weren't these the cats taking the heat for Abu Graib now?
*grumble*

Re: No.

[winterbadger]

*sigh*

I know what you mean, but I've wanted to do something for my country since I was a teenager, something that could use both my natural talents (primarily mental) and my love of and knowledge of foreign affairs and the military.

I'm too old to ever get drafted, so it's not a GWB reserve stint I'm looking for. It's some thing that will allow me to do something useful for my country, pick up some job-related skills and contacts (yes, it's not all altruism), and, yes, fulfill my juvenile fantasy of serving at least for a little while in uniform. Remember Samuel Johnson.

Strongly felt opinion of someone I care about duly noted, however, for consideration. *hug*

Re: No.

[mazzie.livejournal.com]

i don't mean to disrespect you or any feelings you have - including a strong desire to do something for your country. that's understandable, admirable, and respectable.
you are, indeed, quite intelligent and your mental talents are not to be underestimated.
there are lots and lots of things you can do to serve both your desire to do something for your country and your love and knowledge of foreign affairs and the military. DC is a think-tank-infested swamp.
i would worry for any friend contemplating putting themselves in harm's way, no matter how noble and justifiable the reason. i've no doubt that you've thought it through and (despite my petulant "No.") i would support you wholeheartedly.
I think you're wonderful and brilliant and all that good stuff. i hope i haven't offended you with my gut reaction.

Re: No.

[winterbadger]

there are lots and lots of things you can do to serve both your desire to do something for your country and your love and knowledge of foreign affairs and the military. DC is a think-tank-infested swamp.

Yeah, which is why I do what I do. But most of the work in them isn't actually doing something real; it's fannying about, and for a profit. Plus, it's still going to take a lot of work that I'm going to have to pay through the nose to do in order to get the credentials to get anywhere in my field, to be able to actually choose what *I* want to do. And this would pay *me* (well, in practical terms, it would be a wash, but it wouldn't cost me thousands of dollars) for some of the same experience.

I think you're wonderful and brilliant and all that good stuff.

And I think you're crazy, but I'm grateful you feel that way :-)

i hope i haven't offended you with my gut reaction.

Sweetheart, it's going to take a lot more than that to offend me. That's an honest opinion. You'd have to be nasty and hateful and stupid to offend me, and I don't think you have it in you to be any of those things. *hug*

[shy-kat.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I can't say I understand having any desire to serve in our military. Wanting to serve the country is a good and noble thing, but there are so many other ways to do that. Join a volunteer group, tutor poor kids, teach English to immigrants...

[robbysmom.livejournal.com]

Besides my penchant for questioning near everything (not good under a strict command structure, perhaps) and the fact that I *tell* all the time, in part because if you *ask* me whom to contact in an emergency, I would say my life partner. . . .I would consider service (and did actually take the recruiters' tests at age 18)-- even as I would hate being called into a conflict I considered unjust. That's a self-reflective way of saying "I get it," that you would consider it. And I think you might do an excellent job, given the opportunity.