Have you ever wanted to be a photographer? How about a graphic designer? Journalist? Few people realize that there are clear paths for all of those careers through military enlistment — in all Branches.
The Defense Information School, or DINFOS, located at Ft. George G. Meade, Maryland, is the hub through which all enlistees of all Service Branches flow as they start the path to their careers. Like its sister school, the Defense Language Institute, in Monterey, CA — where military Lignuists are trained — DINFOS serves the entire Department of Defense in all levels and all disciplines involving journalism, broadcasting, and public affairs.
For new enlistees, once completing your Service’s initial entry training (Basic, Boot, BCT, etc.), you will follow on to Ft. Meade, between Washington, DC, and Baltimore, MD, to complete your advanced training.
While at DINFOS, depending on the military job you have selected, you can gain training and qualification in broadcasting (both radio and television), broadcast journalism, lithography, multimedia (such as web and graphic design), photography, photojournalism, print journalism, public affairs, as well as learning how to maintain the equipment used in your chosen profession — both at the shop and in the field. The icing on this cake is that not only will you learn applicable, relevant, real-world, and AWESOME skills… you can also gain college credit for courses taken at DINFOS!
Per the website:
“DINFOS maintains national accreditation through the Council on Occupational Education (COE). In addition, the American Council on Education (ACE) reviews DINFOS courses for college credit recommendations, assisting students with their civilian education goals and providing an external validation of the school’s rigorous training programs.”
Most of these jobs will be listed in the public affairs sections of each Branch’s career guides, but some — like the Army’s MOS 25V — fall under Signal Branch. In any case, your recruiter or in-service career counselor will know the details of each of these options. So whether you are already in and serving strong, or are thinking of raising your right hand and joining the team… if any of those above-mentioned paths interest you, check out DINFOS and start asking questions!
