DLI & Security Clearance

[rrhaddon]

Hello. I'm Ron. I have a few questions regarding the Defense Language Institute and the MOS: Cryptological Linguist. I've been in the DEP program for about a month now and have been waiting to take...

[haebyungdae]

First, have you been guaranteed cyptologic linguist (267X) as your MOS? If not what is your MOS going to be according to your current contract?

DLI, just because you know some or are "proficient" (never taken the Korean SAT so I can't compare it to the DLPT's definition of proficient) at Korean does not mean that you will be given Korean as your language at DLI. If you get good scores on your DLPT then they can try to exempt you from going to DLI, but that depends on your test scores and your recruiters working on that (there are not many people that I've seen from all the services that have been given that exemption). The better you score on your DLPT, I would think the better your chances at being a shoe-in for placement in the Korean Language Course, but then again crazier things have happen. The process for language assignment is usually kinda random, you get what you get. Sometimes Marines are given a wishlist, but that doesn't mean that you'll get what you want, it just means that you might get it because you'll try harder at a language that you want to learn vice hating life cause you got stuck with one you didn't want (whiners).

Clearance, here is the thing, as a person in the DEP the Marine Corps is not going to spend any extra time / money to submit paperwork, other then that already required of them, to see if you are eligible for a clearance. This is why the recruiters have a list of the basic requirements that need to be met for placement in the MOS field. If you do not meet those basic requirements then you might just be SOL.

The POTUS' father and mother divorced when Pres. Obama was 3 yrs old, and his father died in the 80's so I'm sure that any possible foreign ties (that would exclude him from a clearance) have been severed, if they even existed, pardon the pun.

[saulsel]

you dont have to worry about the SC until you go through the accession pipeline as we admin call it (Bootcamp,MCT,MOS school) as long as your mother has no ties to terriost or goverment officials whether it be family or friend your g2g. My wife is Japanese and I got approved for a TS b4 she even got a Visa, they just had to verify she did not fall under those criterias.

[FattyTheFerret]

Your mother's nationality won't necessarily hinder you from getting a TS. It may take longer to verify but there are plenty of folks without either parent born in the US that hold a TS/SCI.

Assuming your mother is South Korean as opposed to North Korean I doubt it'll be a problem given they're an ally. If she's North Korean a longer interview/investigation process may occur but unless she's known to visit NK from time to time I wouldn't worry too much.

[rrhaddon]

First, have you been guaranteed cyptologic linguist (267X) as your MOS? If not what is your MOS going to be according to your current contract?

Thanks for your response 해병, you've cleared some things up for me but the issue here for me is still a bit opaque. But I guess that may just be the cost for wanting such an MOS.

Unfortunately, I believe that one cannot be simply "guaranteed" a 267X MOS before they're shipped to boot camp. I don't know for sure, but it seems that my recruiter have absolutely no idea in regards to sending individuals into this MOS or they're keeping hush hush for other deviously, clandestine reasons. The latter of which I'm totally freaked out about, whether I'll get that job or they end up sending me into some other MOS.

The only thing that is absolute in my contract is the ship date (JAN/3/2011), Active Duty, and some other miscellaneous information. I assume I'll know after some preliminary investigations into my clearance or results from the Korean DLPT. However, if **** hits the fan then I guess it'll be my duty
to serve meritoriously as a potato peeler.

"한번 해병은 영원한 해병"
"Once a Marine, always a Marine"

[haebyungdae]

They aren't keeping anything hush hush for devious reasons. But, I do know that myself and many Marines I know that are linguists had a contract code that guaranteed them 267X. Things can obviously change over the course of a few years though. Have you not sat down with your recruiter and discussed potential MOS's? Your contract will have some sort of MOS code listed, whether it be open contract or a specific group of MOS's.

[rrhaddon]

I assume that since I do not see any single MOS or group of MOS explicitly written within my contract, then I may infer that it is an Open Contract. However, the day before I was sent down to MEPS for the physical examination, the ASVAB testing, and swearing in: my recruiter asked me which three MOS that I'd consider serving. I chose Crypto, Intel Analyst, and Infantry.

I do not believe that my choices carry any weight until I see it printed on paper. I'm still willing to join if for some pathetic reason the Marine Corps holds reasonable doubt over my trustworthiness, allegiance, or etc. I guess I was naive enough to believe that even with a category I Cat-ASVAB score, four-years of education from a prestigious university, and mental and physical faculties that mesh cohesively with military lifestyle - just ain't enough.

In addition, my recruiter mentioned something about the "job list" not coming out for the next fiscal year until July. Perhaps, that may be the reason for the shortcomings in our discussions about MOS selections.

[Beltayn]

If it isn't in your contract, you have no guarantee of anything. The fact that they asked you for a top 3 at MEPS sounds suspiciously like Open Contract, in which case you could just as easily end up Bulk Fuel as Crypto Ling.

Don't get discouraged or cynical.
From what you've said it sounds like they simply don't have any contracts left for the jobs you want and you rate based on your scores left for this fiscal year, which doesn't surprise me since the Corps is trying to downsize and contracts for high demand jobs are hard to come by.

In October each new fiscal year begins and the whole new pool of contracts are released to the recruiting stations to fill. Until then it is likely that the only option your recruiters have is submitting people in open contract.
Tell your recruiter that you are willing to wait until the new fiscal year in order to guarantee you get the job you want. Meanwhile do some research on the DLPT5 and prepare yourself for it. It's a tough test. I'd be scared to take it for English!

Good luck, stick with it, don't get frustrated, and I hope things work out for you and you get your opportunity to join the ranks of the proud Marine Linguists.

[haebyong]

You should ask for a DC contract to guarantee the 267X MOS when you ship to bootcamp. Recruiting stations can also request unused contracts from other RSs that have a lower fill rate. So, that could be another option to try and get the 267X MOS. As for your mother's nationality, if she isn't a naturalized AmCit it just may take longer to get the clearance granted. As mentioned previously, just because you have a good SAT II score in Korean doesn't equate to a good DLPT score, SAT II is for advanced placement in college. A B.A. in foreign language has approximately 800 contact hours of instruction while the Korean basic course at DLI has at least 2000 contact hours of instruction.

A new DLPT will be coming online in October which will include north Korean dialect. So, I encourage you to take the DLPT at MEPS before Oct. But, since that will be on the test in the future and that dialect is only offered through DLI I personally would suggest you at least complete a portion of the basic course and not completely by-pass DLI. Even enrollment in the intermediate course would allow you time to get higher level vocabulary and work on north Korean dialect that has been added to the DLI Korean basic course.

Before you can ship to technical training you must have at least an interim TS/SCI clearance. A previous Marine of native skills had to wait almost 2-years before everything was cleared since he still had relatives living in south Korea. Just giving you a heads-up on the amount of time it may take for an interim or fully adjudicated clearance.

Lastly, if you already have skills in one language the Occupational Field Sponsor may decide to give you another language from the same region so that they have a multi-capable linguist. So, don't be surprised if they want to send you to Chinese Mandarin if you score high on the Korean DLPT and the DLAB. That way you are able to perform more functions within the force and give flexibility to the force.

Just my 2-cents,
Pops
MGySgt (Ret.)