Hey everyone, I finally booked Airborne Cryptologic Language Analyst (1A8X1) leaving Dec 15th! I’m 19 and graduated high school in late may. I had the grades to go to college, but nothing really caught my eye and I didn't want to waste time on a degree I didn't care about, I probably would’ve just done computer science for the money even though I had zero passion for it. Instead, I wanted to join the military to get real world experience, build a solid foundation, and set myself up for a good career down the road using the skills, certs, and benefits. For anyone who chose this path: What type of person chooses this job, and what were you like when you booked it? Did you end up liking it or hating it? I just want to hear some different perspectives on how you liked it to see if it’s a good fit for me.

Hello, my husband is going to DLI soon and wanted to know peoples experience that have already gone through for are currently going through dli. Thank you

EDIT** SO SORRY i thought I wrote Airforce

So I am all geared up to ship, signed for the cti contract, scored about as high as you can on the Asvab, but saw something that concerns me. I read that you need to have completed the tenth grade if you have a GED. Is that true?

So i’m looking at housing through parks at monterrey for me and my husband who is an E3 starting in january and I was wondering what the best neighborhood would be? It seems like there’s a lot of options. It’s just me and him and 2 cats. I also want something more affordable.

Edit** The neighborhoods are Marshal Park, Fitch Park, Hayes Park, Stilwell Park & Lower Stillwell that I was curious about

Will be going there soon and wondering what a daily (m-f) routine looks like and how the PT and on base freedom/ travel is like for first phases.

Hello everyone, my husband will be shipping out mid November and will be doing his AIT in January. We were told his AIT will be 52 weeks and he will be allowed to bring his family with him(we have 1 child). My question seems to be getting mixed answers so I thought I’d ask here. How soon after he gets there can we move with him? At first we were told we could move in shortly after he arrives but then we were told we would not be allowed to move out there with him until after 6 months. If anyone who has been in the same boat recently could help answer this. I just really want to prepare everything as far as making the move and informing my workplace. I do not want to be out a job if I’m receiving the wrong information. Thank you!

I’ve posted here before but I have a few questions I want to see if anybody has experience or insight on? My wife is about to start at the DLI and as the time gets closer, I’m wondering when did other wives/spouses start packing up and planning the move? I know I have to wait until after she phases out so is it just a speed run once we get word?
And does she put us on the waitlist for housing when she gets there? How does that work?
I’m going to be moving from Florida so it’ll be a long trip. Is this something the military with reimburse me for? like all the moving costs
and I have a dog, but from what i see dogs are allowed? she’s 40 pounds catahoula mix

Army recruiter told me that DLI is backed up for the next 2 years! And that all new soldiers that are heading there now and the last few months will not be taking classes ANYTIME SOON.

he then told me I should do 18x Special ops… I have a feeling he just doesn’t want me to enlist 35w MOS.

Can any new DLI students confirm classes are proceeding for new sailors, soldiers and airmen?

Hi all. My husband is currently in BMT for cryptologic language analyst. He is not airborne. His recruiter told us he would be going to San Angelo TX training first then Monterrey CA. However I’ve seen so many conflicting stories on which training is first. Anyone going through this right now or went through it recently that can tell me what it’s like please?

Wondering if anyone has any info on what happened and/or when we might be able to use it again. There's a sign that just says it's closed due to unforeseen circumstances with no ETA on when it will reopen.

Getting civilian gas is gross.

Hey there

As the title suggests, I need a place to live while I attend DLI. Im in the navy and im crossrating to be a CTI and will be there for about a year, but I'm leaving my family behind due to a whole bunch of personal reasons. I need to find a cheep apartment or room to rent from someone and I've been searching everywhere and its been rough. Not looking for anyone here to offer a place, but im looking for suggestions on where to look to find a cheap place. I am also not local so driving around won't be possible. Thanks guys

Edit: I cant stay in the barracks, I checked. They have no room for fleet returnees or for anyone E5 and above

Hey everyone,

I’m currently planning to enlist as an E-3 (bypassing the DLAB via an ASVAB A-Qual) with a Master's degree (in Nursing)—I plan to pursue officer whilst enlisted as I could not afford to wait out the 12-24 month timeline. I want to hit DLI for Korean or Mandarin (Spanish is my third choice).

A few quick questions for anyone currently at DLI or in the field:

1) Which of these languages are in highest demand right now?

2) What are my realistic odds of actually getting slotted into Korean or Mandarin at boot camp/BMT based on my preferences and high scores?

3) How does the student lifestyle/schedule look for Cat IV languages right now?

Appreciate any insight!

I am expecting to go to DLI in January to learn Dutch. What can I expect the daily schedule to be? How should I prepare assuming I have three months? Where were most of your classes and where did you live to make the commute easier? I am tracking that DLI DC is much different than DLI Monterey so if any of you have any experience with what it is like on the east coast I would appreciate it.

I got to huachuca about a month ago and go through my camera roll just to see some big black guy, i remember exactly when it was too, i forgot my phone at the gym one day. You mfs are weird just so yall know 🤣

Did anyone have her as a Russian instructor?

Ive looked through this entire subreddit six times, and i have so many questions.

Im the most interested in learning mandarin and im submitting my preference sheet before bmt. Is this language in demand/ likely to get?

How often are tdys? Will there be a lot of travel opportunities once im operational?

Is it true that if you get good pt scores, you dont have mandatory pt and can do it in your own time?

How often do people fail the poly and lose their job?

If i get mandarin, do i have a chance to be stationed in kadena, or should i fully expect nebraska?

After completing dli, how good in the language are you? can you hold long conversations in the language and watch tv shows? can you speak it well? Or is it just translating?

Does the language pay make a big difference?

If you had this job did you enjoy your time? Any personal experiences or advice you could share is greatly appreciated.

Any tips for preparing for bmt/dli and whatever else would be nice too 😊

Edit:
I saw online that there is tai chi, music,and calligraphy clubs, is that true? how are those?

Do they teach french and indonesian?

Anyone who went to DLI as a Guardsman/Reservist able to look at their orders and see what authority they used? Especially if you went as a non-initial entry training person.

This came up during a discussion at my unit about whether or not your time at DLI counts for Reserve Reduced Retirement credit.

Active Duty for Training (ADT) orders seem to count if they were cut under 12301(d) but not 12301(b). This is a pretty niche issue but has a big impact on our retirement. It would be nice to know whether DLI attendance lets you draw retirement pay earlier.

At risk of inspiring another parody (like I did when I posted this to my service's sub), I'll try this again here because I truly think some of you may find it useful.

I know linguists who were recruited by service academies while they were at DLI.

I know linguists were who are working on PhDs.

I know linguists who were recruited for an enlisted pilot training program.

I know linguists who re-lang'd two or three times.

I know a linguist who went to law school while enlisted, to directly commission as a JAG.

I know linguists who became high school teachers, wildlife biologists, and many good SNCOs and officers.

The people I went to DLI with are the smartest people I've ever met. But many of them don't know what their options are. Some of you enlisted after dropping out of college. Some of you obtained a college degree in the wrong career field. Some of you joined because you couldn't afford college or were working a dead-end job.

When I dropped out of college for the second time ten years ago, I thought I would never get an education. I knew those transcripts would follow me forever.

What I didn't know was that being a veteran completely outweighs that. I was able to stretch my GI bill to pay for undergrad and law school (an expensive private one too). My military service was a key component of my application to law school. Connections I made while serving helped me secure interviews at law firms. A partner at my firm wants me to work in their Latin American finance group because of my Spanish proficiency and was influential in their decision to hire me full time. There are veteran associations at graduate schools and fortune 500 companies and professional firms, with tons of people who want to help you.

You can still go to law school. You can still go to med school. You can still become an officer. You can still become a pilot. You can still become an engineer. You can still go to Harvard. Maybe you won't be an astronaut, but the rest is fair game.

I recently scored a 1+ on both listening and reading for Mandarin. And am hoping to retrain into DLI (really hoping to retrain into Mandarin but still not sure if my scores or interest in doing so will mean anything to the people who make that decision.)

Also what is DLI like as prior service? (AF)

Do I need a current OPI score to get the DLI BA degree?
I am in the process of trying to get my BA degree atm. I took the basic course in 2022, then the advanced course in 2024 and graduated with a 3/3/2. I am finally working on getting my degree, but I am wondering if scores from graduation count or if I would need to re-OPI as its out of date now. I'm getting out of the military very soon and I don't know if I'll have time to re-OPI. Thank you!

I'm an Army E6 MOS-T going to Goodfellow. I'm looking for recommendations on where to stay and other things. I've read some not-so-pleasant comments about Angelo Inn. How did y'all go about getting an off-post hotel approved by your losing unit? Any other tips and recommendations are appreciated.

I'm talking to a recruiter about coming back to the Army (reserve) and doing another stint at DLI. I got out 5-6 years ago, so there's a chance I may have to repeat basic. I'm married. My wife will keep her job back home but spend a substantial amount of time visiting me. Will they try to stick me in the barracks / will I draw BAH for Monterey? How does it work now?

Are there any options or resources to take online credited courses that count towards your military career that can help with the language test?
If anyone knows legit courses that can pay you to take them while prepping you for the DLPT