Manages satellite communications essential for maintaining communications during disasters.
ASVAB SC: 102
Catalog listing, not a contract offer. Explore entry-level paths in National Guard.
Satellite terminal crews put a dish on the ground, acquire the bird and keep a link alive that an entire headquarters depends on. Drill weekends cover terminal setup, antenna alignment, power generation, cable runs, cryptographic loading and the maintenance a complicated system needs. Much of the hands on work compresses into annual training, where the team emplaces terminals and troubleshoots them in bad weather. When hurricanes flatten commercial towers, satellite becomes the only path for responders, and Guard terminals are among the first things activated. The rest of the year you are at a civilian job, often one involving radio, cable or network work.
You learn satellite communications theory, including link budgets, frequency bands, antenna pointing and what actually degrades a signal. Hands on skills cover terminal assembly, transmission line work, power distribution, grounding, cooling and the diagnostics each subsystem needs. Cryptographic equipment and key management teach a level of procedural care few civilian jobs require. Troubleshooting a link with no vendor to call builds the kind of technical intuition classroom training cannot manufacture. You also learn network fundamentals, because modern satellite terminals are routers with an antenna attached.
The work grows methodical persistence, since a link that will not close forces you to test every assumption in order. You develop real confidence with equipment that looks intimidating, and that changes how you approach unfamiliar technology generally. Being the one who restores communications teaches you to work calmly while a headquarters full of people waits visibly. Precision becomes a habit rather than an effort, because a loose connector or a wrong setting costs everyone hours. Operators usually end up self reliant technicians who read the manual carefully before asking anyone for help.
Satellite and radio frequency skill is genuinely scarce, and with a clearance attached it makes you competitive for cleared technical work right away. Teleport facilities, broadcast providers, maritime and energy communications firms and wireless carriers all need people who understand antennas and links. Defense contractors hire from this field for terminal installation, field engineering and operations support, often in the same systems you trained on. Because Guard service is part time, you can take one of those jobs now and keep building rank and record at the same time. An engineering or telecommunications degree, helped by state and federal benefits, extends what you already know.
Your morning starts by aligning the satellite dish, running link checks, and verifying signal strength on the terminal. Much of the day goes to establishing and maintaining SATCOM links that keep units connected when local infrastructure is down after a disaster. You coordinate with the teleport controllers, tweak antenna azimuths, and troubleshoot dropouts to hold the link steady.
No suitable exact-MOS or related career-field video has been verified for this page yet. No unrelated video or search-results page is substituted.
$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.
These annual examples assume full-time active duty, not part-time drill pay.
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Recognizes successful airborne qualification, including the required training jumps.
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Earned through Air Assault School, covering helicopter operations, sling loads and rappelling.
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A waiver-dependent opportunity outside engineering; earned by successfully completing the Sapper Leader Course.
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Recognizes tested Soldier proficiency in specialties outside the infantry, Special Forces and medical expert-badge tracks.
A skills-based distinction for support and other eligible MOSs. Current proponent requirements and successful testing apply; holding this MOS does not award the badge.
Sources reviewed . Confirm current course and badge requirements with official school guidance and your unit.
For National Guard 25S Satellite Communication Systems Operator-Maintainer, 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
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Official military rank referenceThe Army National Guard describes technical warrant specialties and a separate helicopter-pilot route. Technical options depend on the Soldier's MOS. This branch-level information does not establish eligibility, a state vacancy, or a promotion ceiling for this listing.
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Guard applicants work with their State, Territory, or DC Warrant Officer Strength Manager on qualifications and a predetermination packet. Approval and required training are separate from promotion; an Army feeder match alone does not establish Guard eligibility or a state vacancy.
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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.
Manages satellite communications essential for maintaining communications during disasters.
Satellite terminal crews put a dish on the ground, acquire the bird and keep a link alive that an entire headquarters depends on. Drill weekends cover terminal setup, antenna alignment, power generation, cable runs, cryptographic loading and the maintenance a complicated system needs. Much of the hands on work compresses into annual training, where the team emplaces terminals and troubleshoots them in bad weather. When hurricanes flatten commercial towers, satellite becomes the only path for responders, and Guard terminals are among the first things activated. The rest of the year you are at a civilian job, often one involving radio, cable or network work.
You learn satellite communications theory, including link budgets, frequency bands, antenna pointing and what actually degrades a signal. Hands on skills cover terminal assembly, transmission line work, power distribution, grounding, cooling and the diagnostics each subsystem needs. Cryptographic equipment and key management teach a level of procedural care few civilian jobs require. Troubleshooting a link with no vendor to call builds the kind of technical intuition classroom training cannot manufacture. You also learn network fundamentals, because modern satellite terminals are routers with an antenna attached.
Satellite and radio frequency skill is genuinely scarce, and with a clearance attached it makes you competitive for cleared technical work right away. Teleport facilities, broadcast providers, maritime and energy communications firms and wireless carriers all need people who understand antennas and links. Defense contractors hire from this field for terminal installation, field engineering and operations support, often in the same systems you trained on. Because Guard service is part time, you can take one of those jobs now and keep building rank and record at the same time. An engineering or telecommunications degree, helped by state and federal benefits, extends what you already know.
ASVAB SC: 102. 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.
Army August 2026 career guidance and National Guard recruiting list 25S, but its entry in the current DA PAM 611-21 Smartbook has not been independently checked.
Official branch occupation evidence
Official occupation evidence · reviewed 2026-09-26
Provisional. Catalog evidence is not an inventory of open contracts.
You do not enlist into this specialty. Servicemembers reclassify into it after serving.
Army August 2026 career guidance and National Guard recruiting list 25S, but its entry in the current DA PAM 611-21 Smartbook has not been independently checked.
We have not been able to confirm this exact code in a current official classification document. The occupation is documented, but the code may differ, may have been reorganized, or may be specific to one program. Confirm with an official recruiter before relying on it.
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.
Bonus-listed — National Guard, as of 2026-09-28. Max bonus $20,000Max bonus $20,000 is a display ceiling, including unconfirmed figures and illustrative estimates, not a confirmed offer. Separate programs are not added together. Where no individual amount is listed, the displayed ceiling uses: Army National Guard six-year non-prior-service ceiling from official-site search results reviewed October 10, 2026. Retrieved page text does not reproduce this amount; state/MOS eligibility unverified. Not the separate $50,000 loan-repayment benefit. Ceiling source
Latest source review — 2026-10-25
The Army National Guard page confirms non-prior-service, prior-service, reenlistment and conversion programs, but retrieved text still does not substantiate the retained $20,000 accession or $10,000 conversion search leads. State, MOS, unit, term and shipping conditions need confirmation. The visible $50,000 figure is student-loan repayment for a six-year contract and non-duty-MOS-qualified status, NOT a cash signing bonus. Army Reserve and Air National Guard are separate components.
Historical amounts are retained. A displayed maximum is not a guaranteed payment. Confirm current written contract terms.
Bonus range review — 2026-10-10
No defensible numeric range established for this entry. An unpublished amount is not a $0 offer; ask for the current written contract. Existing source dates and eligibility conditions remain controlling. Additional program amounts, when available, are explained in their own comments.
Published enlistment program.
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GoArmy careers browser (federal Army listing)Deployment likelihood: Lower*
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