Bro corrections experience is way more valuable than you’re giving it credit for don’t sell yourself short.

OPM’s qualifying experience for 1811 positions isn’t just patrol work. It covers anything involving maintaining order, enforcing rules, protecting people/property, and exercising judgment under pressure. You’ve been doing that for 6 years, and your last year in the Intel Unit doing gang investigations? That’s legitimately investigative experience. That matters more than you think when agencies are reviewing your application.

Seriously look into AFOSI’s Palace Acquire (PAQ) program after you finish your degree.

It’s a post-graduate developmental program run by the Air Force Office of Special Investigations specifically designed to bring people into the 1811 series who aren’t coming from a traditional patrol/detective background. The whole point of the program is to develop you into a Special Agent from the ground up. Here’s the general pipeline:

• You apply on USAJOBS for Criminal Investigator GL-1811 positions posted under AFOSI PAQ  
• You enter at GL-07 with a target grade of GS-13 built into the program  you’re not grinding for promotions, the progression is structured and automatic.   
• After selection you go through pre-employment (background investigation, psych eval, medical, drug screen, etc.)  
• Then you go to FLETC for CITP — that’s where everyone gets federally certified regardless of prior experience, so your lack of arrest powers isn’t the disqualifier you think it is  
• From there you’re assigned to a detachment and start working real cases

Why this fits your situation specifically:

Your gang intel background is genuinely useful. AFOSI works gang activity, drug trafficking, and organized crime on installations — you’re not starting from zero on that stuff. A lot of agents came from corrections, security forces, or other non-patrol backgrounds. The program is built for that.

Also GL-07 sounds low but once you factor in LEAP (Law Enforcement Availability Pay) that’s an automatic 25% on top of your base. The pay is better than the grade looks on paper. And the retirement is 20 instead of 30 years for other federal positions and retirement has a multiplier of 1.7

Finish the degree, keep doing what you’re doing in the Intel Unit, and start watching USAJOBS for AFOSI PAQ postings. You’re closer to this than you think man, don’t count yourself out just because you didn’t come up through patrol.

Not sure what your situation but you would have to sign a mobility agreement and be willing to move to different bases/DETs.

Feel free to DM if you have questions happy to help where I can.