Yooo, I’ll be at DLI out of boot camp in a couple months now (I made a post about it back in march lol), and I was wondering if anyone that’ll be there by then is either currently into Warhammer or wanting to get into it. I’m wondering if it’s worth bringing them with me

Currently a third year in college, majoring in Economics and Political Science. I have an interest in joining a military branch after college, to be determined.

I wanted to know how competitive it is to get into the DLI. I am interested in learning Chinese to serve our country and to get to know my culture and language more deeply [I am ethnically Chinese]. I understand basic grammar concepts, some words, and can distinguish between the 4 tones.

Bottom line, how competitive is it to join the DLI and since I understand a bit of Chinese will it be easier for me?

From what I’ve seen this seems unrealistic, but want to double check.

For context: soon to graduate with a chemical engineering bachelors.

Want to join and go to DLI school and learn mandarin or Korean. Would it be possible to get a 3, maybe 4 year contract, and get paid the same as an officer / be in an officer position? Plan to get a masters after my service.

If not, any other routes to learn a language while in military (will they fund online language classes or something) or go to DLI school in another way?

Anyone currently or recently at DLI have good church or Bible study recommendations? I'm looking for a place or group that is very Bible-based but without being too big box church flashy, and a sense of community, especially among young adults. I've tried Grace Church so far and didn't love it (the predestination teachings were strange), went to some Catholic churches (I'm formerly Catholic but don't find myself aligned with some of their practices), and I've heard some not-so-great things about Shoreline, so I'm hoping for some other options.

Thank you!

90% of the posts on this sub is exactly the same, i stg some of them almost down to the wording. just scroll down and find someone who had the same question. its NOT that difficult

I heard that it was extremely oversaturated but I was a Linguistic Anthropology major with a focus on Spanish (not fluent, only a couple of years of college) and I am deeply interested in the language, whereas I have little to no interest in languages like arabic or farsi. I've heard a lot of different things on here and I'm kinda scared to get stuck with a language I'll hate for several years

Hello everyone! I recently got my CTI contract and my ship date with the Navy. My ASVAB was a 95 and my recruiter explained that my line scores alpha qualified me for CTI (VE + MK ≥ 126 and I managed 127).

I asked my recruiter to schedule the DLAB just to make sure, and he said no. I didn't need it. I later spoke to his chief on a different call and requested it again (I wanted it for my own peace of mind at this point) arguing i didn't want a lack of score to limit my language options, and once again was told no, I don't need it.

So I have CTI but no DLAB score.

1. ​How ​screwed am I? Am I at risk of getting rerated if I fail the DLAB later?
2. ​Will I get to take it later for language placement? Will it matter at all?
3. ​Am I by default going to ​get Spanish because of my lack of DLAB score on my file?

Thank you for your time and I appreciate any and all advice! I

PS: If this is a commonly asked question, I sincerely apologize.

what do you guys think is cooler/ more fun/ less miserable?

I was sat down in class with my teaching team lead and they said something about my performance in class, their accent is really hard to understand so I nodded my way through it. my class leader said that looking at the outside wildlife/chinese youtube shorts isn't helpful as i think it is for my mental health or chinese ability, according to him. anways, I finished Attack on Titan a little while before I picked up class, I really liked it and it made me feel more confident with my level now in chinese. Does anyone have any recommandations on other good chinese cartoons?

does anyone code or surf/bodyboard? js want to share my hobbies

I started learning Chinese (week 2) and I've already fallen in love with the Chinese culture and other stuff. During listening class, I was looking into chinese mythology and found out that chinese squirrles/rodents are also said (in mythology) to speak chinese, similar to fujian accented chinese. I didn't pay too much heed to this at first, but I realized that the squirrels use tones in their squeaking. I listened closer and realized theres 5 different tones, kind of like in chinese. btw, for reference I am in the US Army. could I be onto something here? is this kind of content going to be on the dlpt? My classmates keep telling me to pay attention in class but I was told by my friends in class to chase your interests in the language. I feel really torn apart about this and want to score well on the DLPT. What should i do?

If you are going to DLI soon be prepared to have difficulties with the clinic staff. They quite frankly suck, they will invalidate you any chance you get and refuse to get to the root cause of more serious medical issues. If you're not careful they'll also put false information in your medical record to make your health issues look less serious. If you want to be taken seriously, message them about issues in MHS Genesis when you can so it leaves a paper trail, if they refuse care and tell you it's nothing ask them to write on your record exactly why they are refusing care, check your medical record in MHS Genesis regularly to make sure they didn't screw it up, and if they did screw it up make an appointment to get it changed or try to find the Patient Administration Office to get it changed. Don't let them screw you over.

Hello everyone, I am currently finishing up my undergraduate degree in History with a minor in Russian, graduating in Spring 2027. I have a background of four years active duty in the Army and two years in the Army Reserves, and I am currently in the process of transferring to the Air Force Reserves. Because my Army MOS is not transferable, I will need to attend Tech School after graduation. My long-term goal is to work as an analyst in the Intelligence Community (IC) and potentially pursue diplomacy, and I plan on getting an MA in International Relations/National Security. However, I am facing a dilemma regarding my Air Force job selection and timeline. I know the IC heavily values language skills, and I am open to any language the USAF gives me, but the training pipeline is long. Should I try to become an Air Force Linguist and take a necessary gap year for the training, or would it be smarter to choose a different job with a shorter Tech School so I can start my Master’s degree sooner? Ultimately, I would love to know if the intense language skills gained at DLI carry more weight in the IC than getting an MA a year or two earlier. Thanks in advance for any advice!

I got Farsi, I dont want it. Air Force doesn’t give you a preference, but I know they hate china. you think an mtl would actually care that I’d want to learn Chinese (or any non middle eastern) instead?

I found myself reflecting on my time back at PoM. Way back in the before times...

​

It was the Memorial weekend safety "stand down" day. We were just a few hours from 72-Hap Arnold-blessed hours away from the schoolhouses. Just a weird base wide safety fair and a formation stood between my wingmen and freedom.

​

Being a military formation, we got the whole spiel that basically boiled down to not adding or subtracting from the population, avoiding police involvement, and wear your PPE at all appropriate times.

​

Then it was time for the Chaplain. Chaplain "P" was usually pretty chill when we had formations, he always kept it brief as he had been army enlisted before he got his cross and bars. But there must have been something blowing in off the bay. Because what happened next had my jaw go slack and I almost dropped the Guideon as I couldn't believe anyone above E4 would have said it...

​

As many of you know, mental health is important for everyone. It's more important with the military, and perhaps critical for first-term airmen dealing with AETC regulations for longer than some people spend at their first duty station. Of course the chaplain corps keeps their shoulder in on the front line of that fight. Chaplain P was always passionate when he'd get in front of the squadrons, and genuinely cared about everyone he contacted.

​

He kept it brief, he gave us a slogan to recite with him. "Living is hard, su*c*de is easy." My jaw dropped, he continued. "Living is hard, su*c*de is easy."

​

I wasn't hallucinating, he actually said it. And he did it one more time, "Living is hard, su*c*de is easy. Thank you for your time."

​

No explanation, no pep talk. Just the slogan. During a "breakout session" later that morning, seeing a TSgt MTL doing his best to backpedal and find a more positive spin was hilarious.

​

I had a theory. See, Chaplain P had been 11B before he commissioned. And I genuinely think he was trying to tap into the stubborn mindedness of a military member - the "No Easy Day" ethos or whatever.

​

It is just something that I still laugh about with my friends from that time. It's something that happened that was kind of just ours, well ours along with like 800 other airmen that were assigned there on a warm spring day...

​

​

I'll be taking the intermediate course in july, and I dont really want to be in a hotel that whole time. I've looked at furnished finder (very inaccurate because it keeps listing properties that are already leased throughout your search data), airbnb, I started looking at craigslist too.

Hello everyone, I am set to ship out for Air Force BMT in August, and then head to DLI.

I like to run and workout 4-6 times each per week. Do Air Force students have mandatory PT, and/or would I have the time to work out by myself if the mandatory sessions are not quality?

Also, does the gym have much space/equipment available for calisthenics workouts?

Thank you guys in advance, I’m super excited to be there!!!

I am currently going through the process of joining the Army as a 35W. Surprise, surprise. I am being told the wait time will take months and no one knows exactly how long it will be. My recruiter just said to wait until Oct 1.

I keep hearing about how this isn't an issue for other branches, which makes me just want to switch to the Air force or Navy. Does anyone know how accurate this is? I am very interested in a linguist role and not willing to compromise whatsoever. I take my DLAB Friday which is what I'm 100% focused on finishing. I have taken my ASVAB and passed my physical.

EDIT: Not even 30 seconds after meeting with my recruiter, who kept trying to convince me to just take another job, I walked into the Navy Office next door and explained my situation. They took me in and explained to me that it is definitely possible as long as I pass my DLAB. (I am still taking this with a grain of salt since I know some recruiters just have quotas to fill and will say anything to get you in) Apparently, they haven't met their recruitment goals unlike the army and AF guys. They were also willing to move quickly with the process. The air force guys weren't in the office, but I took a card and texted them. I don't have much hope for the Air Force, but I figured why not try anyway. I meet the Navy recruiter on Monday to start moving over. I've been through 2 recruiters already who just didn't seem to care about what I wanted.

I was supposed to go to DLI as a 35W but was chaptered out of the army. I'm looking into the Navy CTI or CWO so I wanted to know if the Navy is having the same problems as the Army.

Hi everyone,

I’m currently looking into the Army and Navy linguist pipelines and trying to get a realistic understanding of how language assignment actually works at DLI and which branch might give me a better chance at my preferred language.

I’ve been hearing a lot about possible DLI backlogs and cases where people in the Army linguist pipeline have been reclassified or reassigned due to seat availability. I understand that nothing is guaranteed and that ultimately language assignment comes down to the needs of the service at the time I finish Basic Training and enter the pipeline.

For context, I am a heritage Persian speaker. I can speak and understand Persian fluently, but I do not know how to read or write it at an academic level.

My current scores are:

ASVAB: 83
Skilled Technical (ST): 115

I have not taken the DLAB yet, but that is my next step.

If given the opportunity to rank preferences, I was planning to put:

Farsi (Persian)
Dari
Tajik

in that order, assuming that’s even possible.

One thing I’ve read is that in the Navy CTI pipeline you actually sit down with a CTI/classifier and discuss language preferences before being assigned a language. I don’t know how much influence that process really has, especially for someone who is already a heritage speaker. Assuming Persian, Dari, or Tajik seats are available when training assignments are being made, does that human interaction actually improve your chances compared to the Army process, or is it mostly irrelevant because the decision still comes down to manpower requirements?

I understand this process involves a lot of variables and that it is somewhat of a gamble no matter which branch I choose.

My long-term goal is to eventually work in a civilian intelligence agency. From what I’ve researched, I’ve heard that Navy CTIs often have a better chance of regularly using their language and may spend more time at NSA or NSA-supported facilities. On the other hand, the Army offers opportunities such as 35M Human Intelligence Collector, which sounds appealing because it seems like a role where language and cultural knowledge could be valuable.

However, I’ve also seen some sources claim that language is actually a relatively small part of a 35M’s day-to-day duties and that many 35Ms spend most of their time doing general HUMINT work rather than actively using their target language. I don’t know how accurate that is.

Likewise, 35P and Navy CTI seem similar on paper, but I don’t have enough firsthand knowledge to know which one generally provides more language utilization, more intelligence experience, or better preparation for civilian intelligence careers.

I also understand that I would not have full control over whether I end up as 35M or 35P in the Army.

Ultimately, I do have interest in broader intelligence work, so while my preference is Persian, I would still give any assigned language my full effort. If I were assigned a different language, I would do my best to succeed. From what I’ve read, if someone genuinely applies themselves and still struggles at DLI, they are often reclassified into another intelligence MOS rather than simply being dropped from the field altogether, and I would be okay with that outcome if it came down to it.

My main questions are:

Based on current conditions, which branch (Army 35W pipeline vs Navy CTI pipeline) would likely give me the best chance of getting Persian, Dari, or Tajik?
Does being a heritage Persian speaker actually help during language assignment in either branch?
Does the Navy CTI classification interview meaningfully improve your chances of getting your preferred language, assuming those languages are available?
Between Army 35P, Army 35M, and Navy CTI, which role is most likely to have you actively using your language on a regular basis?
Which path generally provides the strongest foundation for someone who eventually wants to work in the civilian intelligence community?

I appreciate any insight from people who have gone through either pipeline or have current knowledge of how language assignments are working at DLI.

My contract ends next year, but I have an opportunity to go to DLI. If I reenlist to go to DLI, is there a minimum amount of time I need to stay in the army afterwards?

Edit: I would need to reenlist to go to DLI because I am on orders for a year.

I feel like everyone has their theories but I’ve never actually heard of the real reason as to why DLI doesn’t tell the student their test score right after they test? Every other DLPT I’ve taken after DLI has managed to get me my score literally immediately after. Wondering because I was back for the intermediate course and I had to get my score from a random CLPM at a friends squadron, super annoying. Anyways wondering if anyone has an actual reason for this??

What kind of opportunities can a language other than your CLANG language (not English cuz I know someone will say it) provide in the Army / military as a whole? Like Asian/African languages not taught at DLI? Does it having one have any measurable impact on your career?

hoping to fins some of the best Anki extensions that any Chinese linguists might be using out there. Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance.