Handed in Application Today

[RyanNS]

So I will be graduating in April 2005 from SMU with a B.A. (international development and spanish) and one of my options after graduating is a Naval career as a DEO. Since i'm graduating with a B.A. the only field open to me (as I was told by multiple recruiters) is the MARS trade. Now the reason I chose Navy was because if I have to live anywhere in Canada, I want it to be on the coast (Halifax or Esquimalat) and the Navy can pretty much guarantee me that. The problem is i'm not sure that I really want to be navigating ships for a living. Not that I would have any problem being at sea and performing those duties, but just that it wouldn't be my first choice. What I really would like to get into would be intelligence, or some other field that could lead to a posting in another country (preferably a Spanish speaking country), but when I look at the description of intelligence on the recruiting website it appears very vague and says somthing along the lines as you need to transfer into Intelligence from another trade/field. This leaves me with a few questions that hopefully someone can provide some insight on.

1) Is there any type of fields within the military that can lead to postings in foreign countries, ie. embassies, NATO bases etc.?

2) Which branch of the services would be the best bet for embarking in this type of career?

Sorry if my questions seem a little vague, as I am rather unclear myself on what exactly I want to do  in the coming future. Just trying to get some ideas going. I've lived in Mexico and Central America before and have driven all over from Northern Mexico to southern Panama near the Darien Gap. I'd pretty much do anything if I could live the rest of my life in any part of this area. Thats an ideal world though and not too likely to happen,  : but just wondering if the military had any kind of field that I would be able to get into that could lead to a position in a place like this, or any other foreign countries for that matter. I will be making a few more return trips to the recruiters so they can advise on this, but like I said I am just trying to get some ideas going here and was hoping that someone may be able to offer some insight.

Thanks

 

[nULL]

Try applying to CSIS.

 

[Tracker]

RyanNS

Isn't Logistics an option?  I'm pretty sure that there are Logistics Officers in the Navy.

 

[RyanNS]

RyanNS

Isn't Logistics an option?   I'm pretty sure that there are Logistics Officers in the Navy.

I've searched the recruiting website for it and can't find anything mentioning logistics, unless you mean the heading/field called intelligence. If thats the case apparently its not open to DEO or ROTP entrants, only in rare cases. Apparentley for this to happen it requires a second language profciency, which I have (Spanish), an undergraduate degree in "(in order of priority): International Studies, Political Studies, Military and Strategic Studies, Social Sciences (major in Politics and Economics), Bachelor of Arts....." I will have  a degree in International Studies in April 05. And an indviduals personal experiences. I have travelled and lived extensively in many parts of the world. (if that matters  ???)

I figure i'm going to have to talk to mulyiple recruiters, both here in Halifax, and when I go home to Sydney as well.

Thanks for the input guys.

 

[koach]

Ryan NS,

That's an interesting situation.  You want to go Navy because you want to live on one of the coasts but you are not sure if you want to navigate ships for a living.  You will travel a great deal as a MARS Officer.  One idea that may work; phone the recruiting centre where you live and ask them if they have a MARS Officer that you can talk to.  They may be able to put you in contact with someone from one of the ships.

Tracker had a good idea with Logistics officer and you may want to follow up on that one.

Almost every trade in the CF has posting that are outside Canada but there are no trades that specialize in Embassy's or NATO type positions.

 

[mayday400]

I'm in the same boat (pardon the pun) as you are.  I have a BA and wanted to go the navy route and was told by the recruiters to apply for MARS.  After checking into that occupation, like you I am not convinced that's the job I want to do.  I'm even thinking about going the NCM route now as there seems to be little choice for a BA grad in the navy. 

 

[humint]

In addition to CSIS, you may want to try DFAIT and enter their graduate program for trade officer or something along those lines.

But, in the CF, it doesn't really matter what trade you are, as there are opportunities across the board for travel and taskings.

Now, for INT, it is extremely rare that they will take someone off CIV street for the trade -- you'll need a couple of years before a remuster to the INT trade.

You may want to go in as a Public Affairs Officer, or enter in as a Logistics Officer and then get tasked with CIMIC or LO duties. This, to me, seems the best route for you in terms of using your degree in Intl Rel and languages in a more open forum.

When deciding on a career path, especially that of INT, I really think people need to put some thought into why they want to end up there. You need to look not only at your interests, but also your skill sets, your long term career objectives, and your expectations of the trade (i.e. what you will get out of it).

INT may sound romantic and high-speed to some people -- but that's because there is a lot of myth and conjecture around the field. I recommend people look into the trade (i.e. seek out an Int Coy and talk to some of the folks) before deciding that it is the-place-to-be.