Day in the Life DLI
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- A quick look at what my day to day life is like here at DLI!
I can't film on base (or describe in too much detail) what happens on base, but if you have any other questions, let me know in the comments below!
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Facebook: / andrusjones
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I graduated from DLI in 1997 and it was one of the most amazing experiences ever! Glad to see you enjoyed it!
I graduated Chinese in 1975, came back as an MLI in 1986. I was Navy so I got up as late as I could get away with. It was hard the first half of the course, then things just seemed to click. Fond memories and had a small group of close-knit friends. All services except USAF. Zoomies stayed to themselves. Some of our teachers were total "characters" (no pun). Had one who wore a tin foil lined chrome pail on his head driving in his car. Made the news titled "Unidentified driving object".
Thank you! My husband’s there for so long! He’s so busy he barely even has time to read my messages! I’m so proud of his progress, and I’m thankful to get this view from the outside! I just wish I could find a cheap way to visit for a couple weeks! :)
It is expensive here, I wish you both the best of luck in this journey!
Just booked my job for AFCLA! I’ll be there sometime next February
My brother studied languages at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in California. The pace of study was intense. Students had to master the language course in 36-64 weeks. Psychologically it was very difficult, but fortunately he was helped by Yuriy Ivantsiv's book "Polyglot Notes. Practical tips for learning foreign languages”. The book " Polyglot Notes" became a desk book for my brother, because it has answers to all the problems that any student of a foreign language has to face. Thanks to the author of the channel for this interesting video! Good luck to everyone who studies a foreign language and wants to realize their full potential!
I just watched your "why i failed meps" video before this and your physical transformation is fantastic! Congrats! I'm sure you feel a whole lot better physically was well as mentally now.
Haha yeah, being fit is part of my job now. The Army has definitely helped me out a lot with physical and mental resilience and toughness.
Jones, for the love of God, straighten the picture frame in the background. It's killing me! XD
XD next time I'll find a slightly more crooked frame for the background ;)
@@AndrusJones Lmfao
I'm so triggered by your picture frame rn
Thank you for your video Mr. Jones, this was informative video and I now know what it is like to be an American soldier at the DLI. Thank you for your service and keep up the great work!
Thank you for the kind words!
I'll be there next week! I just graduated my aviation course since I'm an airborne linguist.
What's you're experience thus far
@@junjunsay93 Incredible! I finished BMT, and graduated aircrew fundies and chamber. I’m now at DLI, and the classes are tough and very fast paced but the town and the view is incredible and the people here are phenomenal.
@@nadyashmadya what language did you learn and how well can you speak it
New here. This is my first video of yours but I’m excited to watch more. I’ll be starting DLI in about a year in the navy and I’m at the stage where I’m looking up any and everything because I’m playing the waiting game and I’m just so anxious to get there.
Glad to hear that you're excited! Good luck at DLI!
Thanks for sharing ... My Son is a Sgt with the Marines and is going in this June I think for 52 weeks. He's already in Dan Diego- Cali
I was a Navy Korling student in the late 80s. I loved the place!
would like to clarify on some things he said; amt of tests vary, also the drill sergeants aren't bad, also the food is bad, and, finally, the barracks are bad. unless ur a careerist. actually.. depending on the language you're in. building 622, 627, and 629 aren't good, at least.
My husband is going in July and I literally can’t wait to meet him there.
Andrus, thanks for the video. For me, this is like a trip down memory lane (I graduated from DLI as a young sailor back in '81). A lot of things have changed
apparently, but it looks like some things have remained the same (PT, drills, good chow, etc:) I retired in 2000, but I would love to visit Monterey again!
I hear California was more in its golden age back in the 80s, I’m sure you had a blast!
I just passed the DLAB and would like to know the next steps I need to take to ship, I’m in IRR.
Great presentation👍. Very helpful, very informative..
My son just signed cti...exciting
Thank you for sharing your video !
What are example classes? Is one for vocabulary, one for grammar, as examples?
DLI grad from 2000 here. Down the Hill Russian school.
In DLI in 2023 just to find this guy in my ILS orientation meeting.
Haha small world!
@@AndrusJones what language are you learning?
@@jacksonrussell3244 this go around, Farsi
Retired at DLI. Was a Korean student there and later DAD of the Asian School.
Just curious. Did you personally retain the language after you got out?
Hey, this was super insightful, Thank you for this video.
No one's mentioned the average temperatures, I had it in my head it would be warmer there, like San Diego or Florida.
Thank you for the kind words. Yeah it’s definitely not like Florida, and it’s like San Diego, just always about 10 degrees cooler. I like it though, nice and cool.
I graduated from DLIWC in 1967 ....Albanian was my language course. I was in the Air Force so we didn't go through all of the military hassles like PT, KP, etc. that the Army and Marines had to deal with. ....it was a nice and comfy experience for about a year. A fond memory.
If you're still in, hopefully I get to meet you. Looking forward to doing this as a career. Take care.
I hate to think about the fact that many of my instructors are probably gone now. I will never forget Mr. Assadi.
All 5... Dont forget the Coasties
This is a great video! I just passed my DLAB with a 141 and am waiting to leave for basic training. How long did you have to wait before your wife could join you? I’m hoping my kids won’t have to wait too long to see their mommy again.
Congrats on that score! I had to wait about a month to move out, but dependents can move into housing before and you could visit, or vice versa.
Update? Where are you now? What language did you end up with?
I would answer your questions, but it’s been a year. Farsi September 2001-September 02.
Great video! Thanks for this!
You're welcome!
Theres nothing to do in Fresno. Dont waste gas 😅
I just passed dlab going for cti! Can’t wait! 😜
Great work! Which language do you hope to get?
will i be able to attend my sisters graduation? Like if I get weekends off, can I fly back home? And if her graduation isn’t on the weekend, and on a weekday, can i miss a day?
Speaking from personal experience in the Army pre-COVID: Getting a weekend pass is really easy, but to fly, you’ll need leave, and even on a weekend it’s not a guarantee. Leave during the week was almost certainly denied while we were in class. I would bring it up as soon as you get there, and maybe for a weekend they’ll say yes.
Hey man, I'm CA in the army and im considering going to dli now that I have a slot available, what is it like if you aren't in IET. Will you still have cadre/drill sgts or is it more relaxed at that point.
So I've only ever been IET status, I don't know what it's like outside in the real army. That being said, DLI is pretty relaxed for everybody. Monterey is awesome and the military housing is really great, though most of the Careerists rent off post. As a Careerist you will be around everybody else but the Drill Sergeants will treat you like battle buddies instead of correcting you all the time. There is a certain separation between the IET Soldiers and Careerists, but you'd be in class and go to PT with us. Let me ask one of the Careerists and get back to you.
Thank you for this video. I now know what it is like to be at DLI!
I second this.
Indeed, now you know!
Would you be able to have your vehicle at DLI?
I miss DLI ! Russian. 93-93 is the tank still on campus? I miss the fog and temperatures and the ocean. Good video!
Yup it’s still there lol it’s super random! Thanks for watching!
Hey I really would like to go to DLI, how is the dlab?
Jeremiah Geiger the DLAB is difficult. It tries to test how efficiently you learn a new language, so prepare yourself with grammar in English or any other language you’ve learned. But give it a shot, DLI is awesome!
Sheer luxury. I was there in 85-86.
I want to join DLI. How can I join DLI? Now, I'm air force tech school member
If you are already in the military, speak with a retention representative in your unit. If you need to enlist first, then ask for a DLAB, and if you pass that, getting a slot to DLI shouldn’t be too difficult.
This is very helpful I’m planning on going soon but I don’t want to leave my mom for a long time does it pay well so I can fly her out like every two weeks?
I’d look up a pay chart to see what you would earn depending on the rank you’d start out as. You can save a lot of the money you earn if you take advantage of the barracks and eating at the DFAC/Chow Hall, but I think finding time to fly will be the hard part. You’ll need permission from your leadership and you only have so much leave time you can earn per year.
Ok thank you are you still there now
anthony agront yup I’m still around.
@@AndrusJones How much longer will you be at DLI?
Courtney Taylor I’ll be around for a little while longer, it’s a long course!
Can I PCS here? Not looking to take the course just want to live in California and not fort irwin can I work on post?
Can foreigners join ? I’m sure if you pass the security clearances anybody can join ?
Hello! I'm a single mom going into the Air Force. I'm going to sign my contract soon to be a linguist. Do you happen to know anyone who had kids at DLI. I know spouces come later but if I'm a single mom will my child be able to come with me immediately?
That’s a good question! So in the Army it would depend on the leaders in your company, but it wouldn’t be longer than a month after arriving, hopefully sooner cause it’s a special case. I’m not sure how the Air Force does things, so let me ask around about that. I would definitely start talking to the people at The Park at Monterey if you want to live in Military housing. The wait list can be pretty long.
Yes after a month. You’re not allowed to leave the base until you reach phase two.
Did you go there right after basic?
Good luck, son!
Hey Great Video! I'm about to go to MCT for 29 days and then its straight to Monterey. I got a 124 on my DLAB, any guess on what language I may get cause I heard it depends on your scores. Also do you know how different things are for marines there?
Hi there! Thanks for watching! So Marines here on base all live in the same building, and are a tight knit group. They all do PT super early in the morning and tutor each other in the afternoons. You are allowed off base but have to wear class Bs during the week if you leave base. But you guys are allowed to drink, Army can’t. I guess in the end, it really isn’t that different between branches. It’s way more relaxed than boot camp though, that’s for sure. As far as which language you’ll get, it just depends. Most Marines I know have some kind of Middle Eastern Language, it just depends on what they need. It’ll be a hard one though with that score!
So please update us in which langauge did you get?
So I know it's years later, but how long until your wife was able to join you
@@franktaylor852 it took about a month and a half, once I hit phase 5+ I could move off post.
Howdy from Texas. My daughter is taking DLAB next week. Are you from California? Did you bring a car? Buy a car in California?
N Guerra tell your daughter good luck! It’s a hard test! I am originally from Utah but I was living in California when I enlisted. I left my cars and wife and everything in California when I went to boot camp and then once I got to DLI and got out of phase 4 I was able to move my wife to Monterey and get my car. A lot of people just buy cars here, because you can’t go home too often and driving a car across the country can be a pain. I personally would find a cross country road trip exciting though, so she could buy a car now and then just keep it in Texas until she gets to phase 5 and gets a leave to go home to get it, or just buy one here. There is a huge auto mall in Seaside just down the street and Monterey is actually quite the car town in general. Finding a car here wouldn’t be a problem. You should check out the car show every August! Hope that helps!
How did she do?
I didn't have a car when I went and it worked. Tell her to get a bike! 🙏 If she visits home she may have to rent a vehicle, but as stated before she won't really be coming home much anyway
Do you get to bring your family even if you speak something like French? I’m prior service and I have a 133 DLAB but I am interested in French and Korean or Japanese. If I got French, I understand it’s only 36weeks, But I’d like to have access to my wife and kids. And do you know what week they can join?
Yes, and if you aren't IET status then they should be able to join you pretty quick. The only reason I had to wait was because I was still phase 4 when I got here.
Jackson Betty Allen Mary Anderson Kimberly
Can I choose my native language (Korean) or is it going to be random?
I don’t work in that office, so I don’t know how they choose for soldiers, but you are given a paper where you can put in your preferred choices. In the end, the army puts you where they need you, but I have noticed a lot of Korean American soldiers get Korean though, so maybe there is a correlation there.
Enjoy it. Decades from now you will long to be there.
It’s been less than 2 years and I already want to go back haha
What if you’re getting ready to attend DLI and your wife is pregnant? Is there any way to arrange to be with your wife during delivery, or is attendance absolutely mandatory with no exceptions?
So that’s a conversation between you and your leadership but from what I’ve seen, missing a lot of class time generally means recycling back a class. That’s not the end of the world though, and the Army respects family a lot, you should be able to be with your wife during delivery.
hey you done with DLI
Your back! I am trying to get everything settled so I can be a linguist.!
I’m back! Hope all is still going well and you’re getting closer to being a linguist!
I am. Got my GED, got everything I need paperwork wise. Fixed my credit. I just need my gauges fixed, which I actually have a sponsor from my RUclips channel paying for! I’m like the smallest channel ever to get a sponsor! I can’t wait. The only thing that might stop me from getting my security clearance is someone apparently stole my identity. I had to file a fraud report to a few places cuz I had like huge bills from dish and other bills that showed up on my credit and I can’t go onto Equifax to dispute them cuz it asks which loans or cards I have had and I didn’t have any listed so I clicked none and I’m locked out so if they run Equifax and there’s stuff on there idk 😰 my luck is really bad. 😡🤬😰
Joshua Warren you got a sponsor?! Wow, good work man! That’s super bad luck with Equifax :/ you should be able to explain that to MEPS and also the top secret agent when you go for a clearance though.
Yea I know! I’m shocked. I’m having them pay for my gauge repair surgery. I tried to do it myself but it kept coming undone. I’m just so anxious to enlist.
And yea hopefully they’ll understand. Apparently the person has been using my identity since 2015 without my knowledge. I owned a business so most of it was available online. My luck is so bad it could be raining titties and I’d get hit with a dick. Or vise Versa. Lol 😂 but in all seriousness I need to start fresh and enlisting is the perfect way to do it.
Joshua Warren this should be a good way to start fresh. :) I hope that it all works out for you sooner rather than later.
any advise for someone who's spouse is already in the air force? I want to join the air force as a linguist, and know that if my wife was a civilian she could live with me while I'm at DLI. But my spouse will be stationed somewhere else before I get to DLI. She's graduating BMT in a week or so. Are there any AFBs nearby where she can be stationed? My spouse is munitions systems, which has jobs at a lot of bases. Think it is possible to get her close to me if we do something like Joint Spouse?
The closest base would be Travis Air Force Base, which is a little over 2 hours away. You could live in the middle and both have an hour commute. There are couple that do that, and while the commute sucks and the housing in the Bay Area is expensive, it could work. You could try and get her stationed at DLI somehow, but those jobs are all Cadre, Instructors, or HR. Other than that, Vandenberg is 3, Beale is 3.5, and Los Angeles AFB is 5 hours away.
Andrus Jones I really appreciate the reply! And thanks for the advise! I know We would both suffer the commute for each other, so if that’s a possibility, then I hope that’s what we can get! Thanks again! Your channel is really insightful, and helps a lot of people!
Love that shirt! Russian, graduated 1996.
Nice!
What happens if someone washes out? What the choices if any?
From what I’ve seen, if the linguist is trying, then the Army would try and recycle them to an earlier class, then they’d try a new language, and lastly they’d try a different MOS. If they didn’t show much effort, then the leadership would consider a new MOS or separation. For a new MOS they had to pick from whatever was available at the time. I saw Airmen get recycled or get a new job as well. I didn’t see a single Marine recycle.
As an MLI in Chinese, we had a saying: "Let them take French!".
How much you get paid? Like how much goes towards housing, etc?
The current Base Pay rate chart and all the allowance charts for each rank are listed online. Currently for an E4 like myself with 2 years of service I get $2450 monthly, and my basic housing allowance (BAH) for Fort Gordon is $1428, which goes to my housing and utilities. I also get a basic allowance for subsistence (BAS) for pay for food, which is $372, and get a Foreign Language Proficiency Bonus (FLPB) for my language as a linguist, which can range anywhere from $200-1000 depending on number of languages and proficiency level. Hope that answers your question!
What language did you do? And did you have any prior language study?
I studied Pashto, and I had never heard of it before. I knew Spanish beforehand, and took some ASL in college.
This is my dream job!
If I studied Russian in college will that help me get Russian as my language if I became a CLA?
It could help, but you’ll want to be outspoken throughout the recruiting process to get it in writing. Otherwise they pick at DLI and you get whatever they need.
@@AndrusJones Thank you!
Hi, thank you for sharing. So you get paid in DLI right? Is there any housing allowance for spouse or kid
Yes, you get paid starting the first day of basic training. If you have dependents, you get BAH starting in basic training as well.
@@AndrusJones thank you so much, that's really helpful. Really appreciate it
What about prior service members? Do they get treated badly by Drill Sergeants too? And can soldiers can take leave whenever they want?
I ask because I'm coming from national guard going to active soon. I know when I was in AIT, the prior service members did not dealt with the Drill Sergeants. And the holidays are around the corner so I would like to be able to take leave days for me to visit family as well.
I would say that nobody gets treated badly by Drill Sergeants here, but non IET are treated better still. Taking leave is easy with anticipation during non class times, but anything during class is very very difficult.
@@AndrusJones I also heard 35P is very physically demanding. A lot of heavy tactical work. Is that true?
Esther I’m not sure exactly what 35P does out in the field, because I’m still in training, but I’m General the 35 series have two sides, Tactical and Strategic. Tactical goes out and collects intel and strategic uses it behind the scenes. I suppose it’s possible to be in a physically demanding environment, but for the most part the Army invests a lot in 35Ps, so they aren’t going to put them in harm’s way if they can help it. Hope that helps!
Esther if you look up MOS physical demand categories on google then you can see how the Army categorizes them. 35P is moderate on their scale, which is the lowest category.
@@AndrusJones I appreciate it!
What language did you study?
Do prior learned (nonfluent but strong) languages, or any other factors have strong bearing on your assigned language besides what the Army/any other branch needs right then?
I ask because my German and Spanish are decent, but I also want to learn Russian. (And yes, I know the Army does not care what I want lol)
@@YeshuaIsTheTruth I'm not sure how the Army picks. I've heard that they just fill the slots that they need at the time regardless of what you tell them you speak, but I wasn't even given the chance to tell them. I think it has more to do with the DLAB score than anything, but you could try to test out of a language once you get here to DLI or at your unit if you're guard.
jordanrichards320 the language you speak or already know won’t affect what you get. You give them your top choices (if you have a chance to give them choices) and they choose whichever one has more empty slots. But expect to get Korean or Chinese and unless you’re FAO you won’t get German.
@@konggogi519 well my 2 top choices after Russian are Chinese and Korean so that's good to know! I didn't know dlpts worked that way... That's too bad
@@konggogi519 Whys that one in particular so uncommon?
Yo brother are there different MOS’s that can be stationed there ?
Yes, a number of Intel MOSs require languages and study here, and several Intel MOSs can be stationed as Cadre.
I want to be a teacher le Spanish at DLI.
WHAT SHOULD I DO?
I’m not sure how to become a teacher at DLI, but any listings will be shown at www.usajobs.gov. I would search for openings there.
Become an officer or apply as a civilian
@Felix Leottau
You say you go to rocklin on the weekends? Like outside of sac?
Yeah, we go sometimes, just north of Sacramento.
Andrus Jones that’s awesome dude! I have family near rocklin and have been wondering if I’ll be able to come up every now and then to see them while at DLI. You definitely answered that question.
Michael Granlund luckily it isn’t super far :)
Nice video tips for passing ?
Do you get a housing allowance for your family to live?
Yes, look up BAH for any of the branches, they calculate it by zip code.
Fort Sill Dfac not bad so that food must be really good
They have upgraded the DFACs at DLI now so they’re better now.
@@AndrusJones my daughter is heading to DLI here in a couple of days right out of basic as an E3. If she lives on base will she be allowed to have a car? Thank you for any insight and for your service.
@@octwin yes she can have a car, but probably won’t be allowed to drive to class and back. But being able to see everything the area has to offer is nice, Monterey is fun to explore!
How long did the process take with moving your wife out there and finding on base or off base housing? My bf is there now and we plan to get married soon and we were wondering how long it would take before I was able to come! :) Thanks!
So that all depends on the waiting list. It took us about a month or so to get a house to open up. I would start taking with the Parks office now if you want on base housing and just explain the situation, maybe get on a wait list. Off base housing is really expensive around here, even with BAH.
Andrus Jones i was looking for their phone number and I can’t find it!!
Andrus Jones also, were you guys already married before you got there or did you marry once you were there?
Katie Ballenger look up The Parks at Monterey Bay. You’ll find their number on their website.
Katie Ballenger we were already married before I joined the Army.
what was your language?
I was there for Pashto
I heard this job pays the most in the military! My friend has a bachelor degree in the medical field & is in the army and told me a 23 yr old E3 makes more than him starting at 80k a year lol is this true?! Cuz I’ll go for this job when I join LOL
Oh and my friend is a lieutenant lol
MrSodaBelly I don’t know about that. An E3 currently makes under $25,000 base pay, so unless they live in San Jose and keep their BAH or are making some crazy bonuses they probably won’t be making 80k a year as an E3.
Andrus Jones it’s in Georgia I think he said the kid’s job in the army is being a translator. So it’s false then? Ok lol I’ll talk to him again
Andrus Jones and he said the kid is always flying out overseas and stuff
MrSodaBelly well in that case he could be making a ton of bonuses. The Army has bonuses for a lot of things if you are deployed. He could make that much then.
Do you need to sign for 6 years to do this?
Yes
If you're Air Force then no, you can sign for 4 years
@@bloo4014 all language jobs need a 6 year contract.
@@Co-gg2rr not anymore
Almost 7 minutes of video, and not a single shot of Compagno's???????
Haha love that place, but no, sadly, didn’t have a shot to put in.
Are there any sports teams you can join at the DLI?
Yes, there are intramural sports!
what is dli?
Aaron.J.Vasquez DLI stands for Defense Language Institute.
I want to be a Linguist, I took mandarin chinese in college. Is the DLAB hard? and do they have open slots for linguist?
Jackson Leverette the DLAB is hard, but more so for people who have never taken a foreign language. You will probably find it easier than most people, but it’s hard. I was told there are always slots open for linguist because of how hard the test is.
@@AndrusJones thank you! I'll definitely give it a try. Mandarin was my minor but I've been out if college for about two years so I'll brush up on it before I take my physical at meps on the 29th. Do I take the dlab before I get my ship out date?
Jackson Leverette I mean, the DLAB tests your ability to learn grammar rules quickly, so I would brush up on both Chinese and English grammar (or any other grammar you know), because it’s a totally made up language. If you do get to become a Chinese linguist then that will be a nice head start for you. A lot of students struggle with Chinese here! You’d take the DLAB before signing a contract, because the linguist MOS’s require a certain DLAB score, depending on which branch you are joining. For Chinese you want to shoot for a 110 or higher.
@@AndrusJones thank!!! And if they struggle with chinese what would help them is watching mandarin chinese movies no subtitles, sleeping with a mandarin playlist of school songs, and writing pinyin A LOT because chinese they create a new word everyday because its no alphabet so it goes off of characters. You have traditional and simplified. I learned traditional, then simplified and you can't think of mandarin in english because youll try to give it an english structure and it wouldn't work. That's what my professors taught me. I'll start brushing up must definitely but if you see those students maybe these tips might help them hopefully. Ohhh and they should take a trip to chinatown or where they solely speak mandarin, it'll help. Chinese people will love to help them.
I agree. I just took the DLAB last week, and knowing Spanish and American Sign Language helped me out a lot on the test(barely scraped it at a 109. For everyone else, if you take the DLAB in the Army, you are required to score at least 107 so you will at least be able to take cat 3 and below languages if you pass.@@AndrusJones
Did you get the language you wanted
The Linguist Addict I was hoping for Korean, but got Pashto. Looking back now, Korean has a higher fail rate and I love Pashto, so I’m fine with what I got.
@@AndrusJones I am going to MEPS this Thursday to take my ASVAB, and next Thursday to take my DLAB. I am really nervous to take the test and I have been studying the rules and reviewing the practice tests. My recruiter said that when you get to the DLI they give you an aptitude test for languages, is that correct? It would be a dream to have Arabic, is there any way to study for that test? Would learning a little bit of Arabic beforehand help me on the test? Thank you for your time.
Emma Hamilton the DLAB is a made-up language, and it tests how quickly you can learn grammar rules for that language and apply them to translate it. I think the best way to study for it is to study grammar rules for English or any other languages you already know so that you understand what the test is asking you. That is the aptitude test though, there isn’t another one, so depending on how high you score on the DLAB, you are eligible for different language categories when they do language placement. That usually happens while you are in Boot Camp before you get to DLI. If you want Arabic, you need to score at least a 110 on the DLAB, and then when/if you are asked for language preference in Boot Camp make sure you put Arabic high on your list, and hopefully you’ll get it!
Any earthquakes?
None big enough to feel yet!
🇺🇲💪💯
I'm just wondering how many of the people you've featured here gave you their permission to have their picture taken?
Sup Android
Sup Sir Jedi Knight!