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Originally Posted by pointel

Hate to say it but that's bollocks. There is an intel branch. Has been for years but it is only now that it is being developed into more of a career option. Anyone who is already in (ie passed out) know?

Sorry to be a pedant, but there is no intelligence branch. You may be able to undertake some training in Int through your career, but you are presently unable to be a core Intelligence Officer in the same way as is possible in the Intelligence Corps or the RAF Intelligence Branch. The role of 'Ship's Intelligence Officer' is one of the better collateral duties available to junior Officers of the Watch but it is exactly that- a collateral duty. You may be a budding Markus Wolf but your primary job is driving the war canoe.


You can express a preference for assignment to the Intelligence 'sub specialisation' on completion of your first complement appointment. This is not restricted to X Officers- there are numerous characters from other branches, nor are they all intelligent- indeed there are plenty of duffers amongst the numbers (along with a couple of notable exceptions). Unfairly or otherwise, the Int Sub Spec is seen as a place for less ambitious/competent officers.

The expectation (as briefed to me by numerous appointers) is that you go into the Int sub spec whilst your peers are off being Navigators/Fighter Controllers/Divers/MWOs etc before all going on PWO course at roughly the same time. This means that you need at least one complement sea job- you are pretty much dead weight until such a time as you gain your BWQ. If you choose to stay in the N2/J2 world then your career prospects are comensurately poor- there are no SO1 posts requiring a background in intelligence; indeed most of these 'crunchy' posts go to the PWO types. You will also find your options further downstream to be restricted- I don't know of any 'int' types who have been through 'adult's staff course' (ACSC) but stand ready to be corrected. This is completely nonsensical but is unfortunately 'the way it is'. There is a corporate obsession with the idea that being a good ship handler/PWO translates into being some sort of staff ninja- which as you may guess, is not always the case.


Hope this clears it up for you. Sorry if this is unduly pessimistic, but these are the bare facts. If you are set on being a career Intelligence Officer then look elsewhere (or join as a CT) else standby to fit Int around your day job.