I've been tooling around on the forums for a while and have come across some talk about what it's like at DLI for the Crypto-Linguist community. I thought, 'Hey, I might want to start my own thread', so I will. I went through DLI in the Navy after basic in 2002. I got put into Arabic and completed the course December 2003. I did NOT however, become a CTI (you'll find out why later). So questions about what life is like after DLI for you guys I can't answer. Here is a little bit of what I did take away from my experience in Monterey.

1) Be prepared for a lengthy stay at DLI. Training there can range from 27 to 63 weeks in length depending on what language you get, and, of course, this is dependent on your DLAB scores. I will warn you: if you have a CAT 4 DLAB score, prepare yourself mentally to get put into Arabic or Chinese (Korean is also an option but that will depend on the needs of your particular service). They will be particularly unwilling to place you in a Spanish class if you have a 140 DLAB; it would be a waste of resources. Also, consider this: Monterey, California is not a bad place to spend 18 months of time on the government's nickel if you do get Arabic or Chinese.

2) Take advantage of what your command has to offer. This is not limited to training. There are extracurricular activities, volunteer opportunities, and collateral duties. Get involved in your units run team, flag football team or other sports. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer. When you get out into the community and interact with the people you work for understanding grows. They appreciate your service and some of the activities are particularly fun. We were able to volunteer for beach cleanups, races out at Laguna Seca, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Collateral duties are a must for your career. Not only are you helping out your command but you're also providing bullet points for your evaluations. When you fill out an entire 'REMARKS' section of your eval with all the extra stuff you've been doing in addition to all of your language training, it looks really good in your service record.

3) Enjoy California and start with Monterey. Fisherman's Wharf has great seafood. I ate more Calamari in Monterey than I really ever needed to. Remember, it's the old stomping grounds of Steinbeck and other academic heroes so try to learn a little bit of the history of the area. From there you can branch out into the rest of northern California. San Francisco is about two hours away. There are also State and National Parks (MWR can get you hiking, camping and fishing permits at a reduced cost).

4) Speaking of MWR (Morale, Welfare, Recreation), find the office and find it early. You can get a lot of discounts for stuff here (car rentals, tickets to all kinds of stuff, permits). They also rent kayaks, canoes, camping, fishing, and SCUBA gear. They also have classes for SCUBA in Monterey (longer courses taught on saturdays or truncated 4-day weekend classes).

As far as training goes remember all of this:

5) Your class is your new family. Your section is your lifeline. These will be the 9 other people with whom you will spend 8 hours every day, five days a week for 63 weeks (in a CAT 4 like Arabic). For your first two months you'll be spending nights with them as well in study hall. You need to bond with these people, trust them, help them and ask for their help whenever you can. I have seen people try to go it alone at DLI and they failed dramatically. You will become closer with your class section than you will with just about anyone else in your career. There are class picnics, food days and learning activities. Our section spent a lot of time out of class and off post together. Some of you will fight and bicker like you're married and some of you will, in fact, get married (yes, even to each other). Just remember, everyone there is in the same situation and they ask for no more latitude than you do. I still keep in touch regularly with a lot of my former classmates.

6) Don't ever lose your perspective. In other words: Don't ever forget who you are and why you're at DLI. Sunday night through Thursday night-study, study, study. Study hard, study long, prepare for tests all the time, read and listen to everything you can in your target language. Seek out the individuals in your language who are near graduating (usually after the mandatory weeklong break about 2/3 through the course) and ask for their advice and guidance on how to make it through the first few difficult months in the language. Friday nights and Saturdays, lay off the books. Your mind needs a break. It's an intense atmosphere and if you don't decompress weekly you will burn out. Attrition at DLI is pretty high and people don't make it. Most of these had no business being there to begin with but, some just run out of steam. The one's who run out of steam are usually superstars but the pressure of high performance for so long breaks them. DLI is about 5-6 years of straight college-level language training compressed into 27-63 weeks. Most come away from DLI speaking their target language better than college professors with PhD's who teach the language at public university. Also, remember: you're training to be a translator. Getting to DLI means that you have a capacity for learning languages (and that makes you fairly smart). It doesn't necessarily make you smarter than anyone else and doesn't entitle you to special priveleges. Prima donna attitudes do not fly at DLI and will get your butt smoked out in the operational military. Maintain your military bearing and your discipline. The last note on training don't neglect PT. Being in class all day doesn't do much for your resting heart rate and causes what we like to call the 'Secretary Spread' (where your backside widens to match the shape of your chair). Don't just rely on unit PT, get out on your own. You will hear from your cadre that the fitness center at Monterey is a ba-zillion times better than any they've seen anywhere else. The gym is outstanding, there's a great track with an excellent running surface and the football field has outstanding artificial grass (i. e. it only takes off the top layer of skin when you lay out for that Hail Mary during flag football, LOL.)

7) If you have issues that can affect your clearance take care of them before you leave for Basic. If you've got a record, make sure it's nothing serious. Spend the $100 and do a background check on yourself. You can usually get basic information about traffic tickets, court actions and other legal stuff that you have going on. This is usually the first stuff the investigators find and makes them start digging deeper. Get the 3-in-1 credit report and make sure that all of your debt is current (paying particular attention to anything that is overdue). If you're not taking care of your finances it WILL become an issue. A lot of debt isn't a problem as long as your paying your bills. Just don't accumulate any more debt while you're in the military. If you have some college loans get them deferred. If you have a car note and a credit card and they're all current, trust me, you're fine. You need to show that you're responsible and can be trusted to take care of your business, that's what getting a clearance is all about.

I went through DLI and did the following: didn't study enough, hung out in the local bars and drank too much beer, didn't volunteer and didn't get noticed at my command in a positive way. I only did PT when I was forced to, I smoked all the time, let my debt slide and got lost in my own ego. I married a soldier and found out that inter-service marriage was going to be miserable. Succinctly, I didn't do any of the things that I'm offering up now. What happened to me: I failed a PT test (for Body Fat), tanked on my DLPT and got denied my clearance. I ended up in supply school and had a bad time for the next three years. I did finally get my clearance and now I'm about 6 months from graduating college with a BA in Political Science. I'm joining the National Guard as a 35P (Cryptolinguist), going back to DLI (to do it right this time). I'm also prepping an MI Officer packet and planning on transitioning to active duty once I get commissioned and complete my obligated service to the guard. Do as I say and not as I did and you should be okay.

Awesome. I appreciate this info and that you wanted to share your experience (good, bad, indifferent). Im taking my DLAB Friday and gearing up for the CTI position. I like the bit you've included about spending some time off post (especially the diving course because I have my SCUBA certificate and I bet theres some decent diving in the area). Being a college grad has been the source of some prolonged deliberation in my mind on whether im making the best decision. I like reading personal posts like these to get a small sense of what im walking into so thanks for that. Good luck in your next endeavors.

Seeing as this thread is all about DLI life, I'd like to add some of my own experiences, from a slightly different perspective.

I'm a Fleet Returnee. I've been in the Navy for 8 years now - and at DLI for 1 year. I've got a family, and I'm an NCO, so I get a few more freedoms than those coming out of boot camp. I'm studying Chinese, and have less than 3 months to go before graduation. It's been exhausting.

A lot of people who come here tend to be older than in many other A Schools. Additionally, because the school is so long, it is considered a PCS (Permanent Change of Station), which means you can bring your family - so we get a lot of those here, too. In fact, at any one time, there are over 1,000 DLI families here. Add to that the families of NPS students (the Naval Post-Graduate School is down the hill from DLI), and you've got a very large military housing system around here - one of the biggest I've seen. My perspective is from that of a family man who doesn't have a lot of money.

From my angle, Monterey is not necessarily the best place for families. We're under-compensated for one of the most expensive regions in the nation (a huge culture shock if, say, you're from the South, like me). An example: Gas here is currently $3.77 on base and going up fast. For us city folk, there's not a large variety of "affordable" things to do in the immediate area - almost anything fun or nice is extremely overpriced, as Monterey is a tourist town.
Granted, it could be a lot worse. Due to a fluke of nature, the water is cold year-round, but the bay is also one of the most beautiful diving spots in California, if you have (or rent) a suit. The water is generally blue, and the beaches are very pretty - and due to the cold, rarely crowded. As you head onto the peninsula or southward thru Carmel or Big Sur, the rock formations along the shoreline are everywhere, and extremely beautiful. The DLI is less than a mile away from some very picturesque locations -- and best of all, nearly all the beaches are free. Fisherman's Wharf & Cannery Row are complete rip-off tourist-traps. However, the Monterey Bay Aquarium is truly top-notch - it's supposed to be the best aquarium in the nation. The prices for single-day tickets are blown way out of proportion, but if you have kids, I recommend a year membership - it pays for itself in 2 trips, and we've gone more than a dozen times. Not only did the kids think it was a blast, but I even loved it.

San Jose does, in fact, have everything. And of course it's the center of Silicon Valley. It's just over an hour's drive away, so if you want to get your nerd on, there's no better place. Cupertino and Sunnyvale aren't much further, and you can see the Google and Yahoo corporate headquarters from the main highway. Not to mention, there are wifi hotspots all over Silicon Valley. Oh, and don't forget... IKEA. East Palo Alto, off Hwy 101, University exit!! Ikea will make your family's stay in Monterey (and Meade or Hawaii if you move there later) much, much more bearable.
Gilroy is 40 miles north of Monterey - halfway between M-Ville and San Jose. It's not only a huge outlet shopping center, but also the nearest Arby's, Carino's, Panera Bread, among several other fantastic stores. It's a lot nicer than Salinas.
The boardwalk at Santa Cruz, also about 30-40 minutes away on the north end of the Monterey Bay, is a must-see, despite that it's a little expensive. You'll probably recognize the scenery from a dozen "cali" movies. Parking's a *****, tho.
Salinas really isn't as bad as everyone says it is - unless you're Hispanic. The gangs don't tend to mess with people who aren't in rival gangs. The true reason not to live out there is the horrible commute - there are only 2 roads between Salinas and the Peninsula, and the entire way is stop-&-go to and from school.
Unfortunately, if you're E-5 & below and you have kids, you'll be hard-pressed to find anything cheaper than the Privatized Military Housing this side of Salinas. Pinnacle, the company who runs them, are slumlords, and everyone I know has only had problems with the management. However, everything else is extremely expensive, does not accept pets, and, retartedly enough, is more often than not just as bad or worse than military housing. So, go look out in town when you get here, but if you can't find anything, suck it up - it could be worse -- it could be Ft. Meade

My main advice for the DLI - 1) don't do anything stupid. More and more people are being caught for DUI or underage, or for drinking far too much cough syrup. 99.5% of them get either kicked out or fleeted after 30-45 days restriction. Either way, your clearance will be revoked for good. 2) Learn the basics in the first semester. Learn them well, because if you are struggling thru Sem1, you're not going to do well in the next 2. This is your foundation. 3) Find something that inspires you, and keep hold of it. Find something or someone to push you. When you hit Semester 3, you'll be constantly bombarded with far more material than you can possibly remember. It's done on purpose, and you often get burnt out in those periods where there are no upcoming holidays for a month or two at a time. Sucky. Find something to look towards - an enlistment bonus, a free trip to Hawaii, Language Pay (woot!), or my personal favorite -- letting down my family if I fail -- etc. to keep you motivated. Think positive, and don't let the system get you down. The DLPT isn't that bad.

Good luck yall, and remember, in the end, it really is worth it. You'll be in a job where you can feel a serious sense of accomplishment. Where you are challenged, and can feel pride in safeguarding your nation. That is what we train for here.

Ni hao ma? Xianzai wo ye xuexi Hanyu.

Thanks for the info. I would have to agree with you that the fleet returnees seemed to have a better grasp of their situation most of the time, although we did have a few when I was there that got sent up for doing some of the same stuff that the booters did.

After I spent some time out in the fleet. I started thinking that maybe DLI wasn't a good idea for booters. If it were set up so that the new kids could spend some time at sea first before going to DLI, they might appreciate what they had there a little more. This way they wouldn't be so inclined to do something stupid to lose it. I don't know...it's just an idea.

As for the housing, the place we got was great. Due to availability we got a 3-bedroom. It had a nice big yard with grass (if you watered it) and our neighbors were decent. Has it gotten worse???

I don't do the touristy thing much anymore. I did all that the first time there and my wife is actually from the SF Bay Area. She still has family up there and we would occassionally travel to see all of them.

Good luck on the OPI and DLPT.

quote:

Originally posted by surethingchief2hua:
Ni hao ma? Xianzai wo ye xuexi Hanyu.

好棒啊！祝你好运.

quote:

Thanks for the info. I would have to agree with you that the fleet returnees seemed to have a better grasp of their situation most of the time, although we did have a few when I was there that got sent up for doing some of the same stuff that the booters did.

After I spent some time out in the fleet. I started thinking that maybe DLI wasn't a good idea for booters. If it were set up so that the new kids could spend some time at sea first before going to DLI, they might appreciate what they had there a little more. This way they wouldn't be so inclined to do something stupid to lose it. I don't know...it's just an idea.

说起容易，做得难。 I definately think that this school would do better if the students had some real experience. Unfortunately, the military currently needs a bagazillion linguists, and we're quite behind on those numbers. Still though, once we reach our quota, we should have some sort of requirement where, unless you just score the crap out of the DLAB, you shouldn't be allowed to be a CTI unless you cross-rate from the Fleet, min. 2 years experience. We'd be better off for it, IMHO.
What we truly need, though, are better ways to encourage our students. The teachers often care, but the school often seems to be proud of their extremely high fail-out rate. I think if we could better motivate these booters, they'd perform better - which would save a lot of money sending backup students because "Well you know a quarter of them will fail anyway...". I'm no William Wallace either, granted. How do you inspire your students? Personally, I just try to work harder and tell them to keep their eye on the prize. I like to hope that my "been-there-done-that" speeches will keep them thinking this is still worth working hard for, but it doesn't always work.

quote:

As for the housing, the place we got was great. Due to availability we got a 3-bedroom. It had a nice big yard with grass (if you watered it) and our neighbors were decent. Has it gotten worse???

Er. If you're talking about The Parks, it still looks like sh*t, and the management company is quite evil. In fact, and this is probably best for another board, try finding some people who have recently gone to the "town meetings" that we have, and see what they say about it, if they have the balls to say it on an open forum. We're constantly given the slip, and I'm not saying any more about this since I wasn't there, but I heard some pretty corrupt sh* went down. Considering the already shoddy performance of their community managers, I am truly disappointed in this place.

I still recommend seeking out any other place to live before settling on the Parks - unless they give you a new house, and good luck w/ that.

Hi guys thanks for all the great info. I recently took the DLAB, made a 141, and am a CTI leaving for basic in October. I am currently engaged, but due to certain financial constraints we have decided that we cannot get married until after basic training. My basic question (or questions) is, when could I get married while at DLI? what would I need to do to get her added to my orders? how long would the process of marraige proof take? and what would our housing situation, or our housing possibilities look like? So, in essence, how could all this work out? Thanks a ton.

Well, getting married here isn't a big deal. It took me about a month to shuffle all of the paperwork with the Navy here. Mostly it was just running through a checklist to tell the command "Yes, I'm adult enough to be married." Financial planning worksheets, a meeting with the chaplain, etc. I'm not sure if they'll let you process the paperwork when you first get here, they may make you wait until you've started class (yes, there's a lag time between when you step off the plane and when you start class). Also, remember that you won't get leave until your class break or Christmas, whichever comes first, so if you're planning to have your marriage at home, those are the time frames.

After you're married and you've registered your wife with the command you can submit paperwork to have her flown out, or you can buy a plane ticket yourself.

As to housing, you can apply for military housing, or you can take your Basic Allowance for Housing and go into town for an apartment. The military will move all of your furniture and other stuff free of charge, so you don't need to worry about that. Though you may want to check on an automobile.

That about sums it up. I wish you the best of luck!