Conduct counterintelligence investigations, collect human intelligence, and analyze threats to Marine Corps operations.
ASVAB GT: 105, CL: 105, or AFQT: 55
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Explore entry-level paths in Marines.
Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Specialists collect information from people and protect their unit from someone else doing the same thing. A typical week mixes interviews, source meetings, screening operations, background research, and writing reports that other agencies will read. You spend time outside the wire and time at a keyboard in roughly equal measure, and the reporting is where the value actually lands. The work runs on legal authorities and oversight, so knowing what you may and may not do matters as much as being good with people. Because Marine teams are small, junior Marines get responsibility that would take years to earn elsewhere.
Training covers interviewing and elicitation, source handling, report writing, investigative method, and the counterintelligence side of protecting information and people. You learn to build rapport with someone who has no reason to help you, which is a skill few professions teach formally. Language and cultural study often follow, and the reporting standards teach precision about what you know versus what you were told. You operate at a high clearance level and coordinate routinely with other services and federal agencies. Understanding physical and operational security from an attacker's perspective becomes second nature.
Reading people accurately while staying skeptical about what they tell you is the central discipline this job builds. You become careful with words, because a sloppy sentence in a report can send someone down the wrong path. The work demands patience, since a productive relationship is built over months and cannot be rushed. Operating under oversight teaches genuine integrity, because the temptation to cut a corner is real and the consequences are legal. You also learn emotional control, staying calm and curious in conversations that are tense, evasive, or openly adversarial.
Federal investigative and intelligence agencies hire from this field directly, and the clearance is what makes you competitive. Corporate investigations, insider threat programs, fraud examination, and background screening companies all want the interviewing and reporting skill set. Defense contractors staff counterintelligence support and training positions with veterans from exactly this community. Local and state law enforcement value the investigative and interview experience, and veterans' preference points help on those applications. Some veterans go into international risk consulting, where reading a local situation through the people in it is the job.
Your day opens reviewing threat reporting and coordinating source meetings with your team lead. You spend hours conducting counterintelligence investigations, debriefing sources, and analyzing potential threats to Marine operations. The work moves between the office, writing detailed reports, and the field, where you carefully develop and manage human intelligence.
A counterintelligence/human intelligence Marine describes his journey of lateral moving and his experiences in the 0211 job field on Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan, June 28, 2022. CI/HUMINT Marines detect and/or deny espionage, terrorism, sabotage and subversion by an adversary, and collect information through interpersonal contact. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Colton K. Garrett)
Official publisher description and direct video page checked; playback not independently watched. Checked 2026-10-25. This assignment may not reflect every posting in this career.
$43,902–$74,948
2026 basic pay only; the same grade and service time pay the same across jobs. Promotions are assumed, not promised. Excludes allowances, bonuses and special pays.
Possibilities for serving Marines, including those in support roles—not guaranteed admission or awards. Individual eligibility, assignment, selection, available training or competition places and successful qualification apply.
Earned skill levels: tan, gray, green, brown and black belt. Applies across combat and support specialties.
Belts require documented training, sustainment and performance testing under authorized instructors. Higher belts have additional prerequisites, including applicable grade and professional-education requirements; neither promotion nor elapsed service awards a belt. Confirm the current requirements for the next belt with your instructor.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For Marines 0211 Counterintelligence/Human Intelligence (CI/HUMINT) Specialist, official service-wide guidance and any exact feeder-list matches are distinguished below from unverified specialty-specific requirements. Ranks are not separate jobs, and these possibilities are not guaranteed promotions or available contracts.
Examples of higher service ranks
These are service-wide rank names, not a verified promotion ladder for this specialty. Examples are not exhaustive; appointments sharing a pay grade are not additional promotion steps.
Official military rank referenceMarine NCO grades are E-4 and E-5; staff NCO grades are E-6 through E-9. At E-8 and E-9, first sergeant/sergeant major and master sergeant/master gunnery sergeant have distinct leadership roles. Warrant and commissioned officers are separate career tracks. This service-wide structure is not a verified promotion ceiling for this MOS.
Marine Corps ranks and career-track distinctionsService-level application reference—not a verified next step for this listing
The FY27 regular warrant program requires technical and professional qualifications for the requested warrant MOS and selection. A listed warrant destination does not establish an enlisted feeder match. The February 2026 deadline has passed; this announcement documents a selection route, not a currently open opportunity.
Marine FY27 regular warrant selection announcementSpecialty-specific advancement, senior assignments, and eligibility for a different personnel category have not been verified for this listing. No feeder eligibility or automatic transition to another specialty is implied.
Advancement depends on current service rules, performance, required education, qualifications, selection, and authorized positions—not simply years served. Confirm current requirements with an official recruiter or career counselor.
Related military jobs below are for exploration, not promised progression or confirmed transfer paths.
Sources reviewed 2026-10-03. This is a partial evidence review, not verification of every advancement route for this specialty. Source retrieval dates do not replace policy effective dates.
Career-field mappings, not automatic qualifications. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2024 national medians). O*NET links explain each occupation; military experience does not guarantee a job or salary.
Conduct counterintelligence investigations, collect human intelligence, and analyze threats to Marine Corps operations.
Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence Specialists collect information from people and protect their unit from someone else doing the same thing. A typical week mixes interviews, source meetings, screening operations, background research, and writing reports that other agencies will read. You spend time outside the wire and time at a keyboard in roughly equal measure, and the reporting is where the value actually lands. The work runs on legal authorities and oversight, so knowing what you may and may not do matters as much as being good with people. Because Marine teams are small, junior Marines get responsibility that would take years to earn elsewhere.
Training covers interviewing and elicitation, source handling, report writing, investigative method, and the counterintelligence side of protecting information and people. You learn to build rapport with someone who has no reason to help you, which is a skill few professions teach formally. Language and cultural study often follow, and the reporting standards teach precision about what you know versus what you were told. You operate at a high clearance level and coordinate routinely with other services and federal agencies. Understanding physical and operational security from an attacker's perspective becomes second nature.
Federal investigative and intelligence agencies hire from this field directly, and the clearance is what makes you competitive. Corporate investigations, insider threat programs, fraud examination, and background screening companies all want the interviewing and reporting skill set. Defense contractors staff counterintelligence support and training positions with veterans from exactly this community. Local and state law enforcement value the investigative and interview experience, and veterans' preference points help on those applications. Some veterans go into international risk consulting, where reading a local situation through the people in it is the job.
ASVAB GT: 105, CL: 105, or AFQT: 55. This is the catalog's listed requirement, not an individual eligibility decision. Confirm the current standard and any exceptions with the service.
You do not enlist into this specialty. Servicemembers reclassify into it after serving. Confirm the current status of this specific classification with an official recruiter.
Catalog sources consulted: 2026-09-26. This is not an entry-by-entry verification date. No record-specific verification date is recorded. Occupation audit evidence reviewed: 2026-09-26; this does not re-verify every requirement.
Official branch occupation evidence
Occupation identified. This occupation was identified in the cited source. This does not verify requirements, benefits, or a current opening.
NAVMC 1200.1L, FY26 Military Occupational Specialties Manual (effective October 1, 2025), chapter 1 · reviewed 2026-09-26
Confirmed. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
You do not enlist into this specialty. Servicemembers reclassify into it after serving.
No dated public inventory confirmed a currently open recruiting contract for this role. This does not mean there are no openings. Confirm current eligibility and offers with an official recruiter.
Deployment likelihood: Moderate*
* Estimated. Rank progression and specialty-pay eligibility are illustrative assumptions. Deployment likelihood, when shown, is inferred from similar specialties in the branch and career field, not a published specialty deployment rate.
Descriptions may change. No military role is free from risk of injury or death, including non-combat work. Catalog review dates do not establish current openings or re-verification of every requirement.
Recruiting signals reflect what each branch published on the dates shown. They are not offers, and they do not mean a contract is open for you. Eligibility depends on your ASVAB scores, medical qualification, security clearance eligibility, and ship date. Confirm everything with an official recruiter. See our Disclaimer and Terms.