How would you describe a job in Army military intelligence?

I'm curious about what a typical day looks like for someone in Army military intelligence. What responsibilities and duties should I expect if I pursue this path after high school?

Being involved in Army military intelligence can entail a variety of roles, and your day-to-day activities would largely depend on your specific job within that field. Here's a general idea of what some of those roles might look like.

In general, military intelligence professionals are responsible for gathering, analyzing, and interpreting information about an opponent's strengths, weaknesses, and potential battle areas. Intelligence can come from a variety of sources, from reconnaissance to intercepted communications.

If you're in a position such as Intelligence Analyst (Military Occupational Specialty 35F), for instance, you'd be responsible for analyzing the information received from various sources, evaluating its usefulness, and determining its potential impact on your team's activities. You'd be looking for patterns or significant elements within the data, then preparing reports or briefings for commanders and other leaders to use in decision-making processes.

Signal Intelligence Analysts (35N), on the other hand, deal with intercepting foreign communications, using different signal equipment to perform this role. They also analyze coded messages and foreign languages, so if you have language skills, this could be an interesting path.

If you're in an imagery professional role, like a Geospatial Intelligence Imagery Analyst (35G), you'd focus on interpreting aerial or overhead images to identify military installations, facilities, weapons systems, and industrial facilities, among other things. This could involve working with satellite technology and remotely piloted vehicles.

Roles in military intelligence aren't all about gathering and analyzing information, though. Some people might find themselves in more specialized roles. Counterintelligence Agents (35L), for example, conduct investigations to detect and counter threats to military operations.

Lastly, keep in mind that, regardless of your role, duties generally also include maintaining files and databases related to intelligence, keeping abreast of new developments in your field, and participating in field exercises where you can put your skills into practice.

It's definitely not a 9-to-5 job, and while it can be mentally demanding and sometimes high-pressure, many find it to be a rewarding and vital role within the military. The skills and methodologies learned can also be highly translatable to civilian roles that require research, analysis, and understanding of complex problems.