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Air ForceIntelligenceRank #9 of 101 by 4-year cost
1N3X1

Cryptologic Language Analyst

64-week pipeline · BMT + DLI + Technical Training + NSA Certification · DLI Monterey, CA + Goodfellow AFB, TX
Training Pipeline
$155K
64 weeks
Annual MILPERS
$84K
E-5, 4 years service
Equipment Burden
$5K
per year (amortized)
4-Year Total Cost
$507K
DoD investment
4-Year Cost Breakdown
Training Pipeline
$155K31%
Military Personnel (MILPERS × 4yr)
$334K66%
Equipment Burden (× 4yr)
$18K4%
Training: 31% · MILPERS: 66% · Equipment: 4%= $507K
By the Numbers

Air Force CLAs are among the rarest specialists in the IC. Their combination of Category IV language fluency, TS/SCI clearance, and SIGINT training commands $120K–$170K starting salary on separation.

Training Pipeline
Duration
64 weeks
Type
BMT + DLI + Technical Training + NSA Certification
Location
DLI Monterey, CA + Goodfellow AFB, TX
Pipeline Cost
$155K

Air Force CLAs spend 63 weeks at DLI studying Category III/IV languages at a cost of ~$500/student/day. Arabic DLI training alone costs approximately $95,000 — before a single day of SIGINT-specific instruction.

Equipment & Annual Burden
Assigned Equipment
  • ·Classified SIGINT Collection Equipment
  • ·Language Analysis Tools
  • ·JWICS/SIPR Systems
  • ·NSA-Approved Crypto Hardware
Annual Equipment Burden
$5K/yr
Classified equipment allocation
Military Personnel Cost (Annual)
Grade BenchmarkE-5, 4 years service
Base MILPERS$73K/yr
Specialty Pay(Foreign Language Proficiency Pay (FLPP), Cryptologic Duty Pay)+$10K/yr
Total Annual MILPERS$84K/yr
Specialty pays account for $10K annually (12% of total compensation).
Force Structure Context
Annual Accessions~600
Avg Career Length8 years
Annual Training Bill$93.0M
Total Force 4yr Cost$304.4M
Read 1N3X1 Reviews →← All MOS ProfilesAverage Per-Soldier Cost →
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4-year total

Cost estimates derived from DoD Comptroller per-soldier analysis, RAND Corporation military personnel studies, CBO military compensation reports, service-specific training cost testimony, and published equipment unit costs. Error margin ±15%. Individual costs vary by duty station, assignment, and deployment tempo. This is Phase 3 of the Honest MOS DoD Budget Intelligence Roadmap.