US Coast Guard Reserves

[renaissance]

US Coast Guard Reserves, also Air National Guard - USCG it is!!

Any BGOers have any insight, thoughts, etc about the USCG reserves?

Edit: I'm also starting to look in to the Air National Guard, but haven't been able to get in touch w/ a recruiter yet. Some of their career fields interest me though. If anyone has insight about them it'd be much appreciated

 

[L J]

I have a friend who is full time USCG. Boot Camp is in New Jersey, and then she went to Alaska for a year, now in Alameida. She is going to do 8 yrs full time, then going into the reserves. She is in an admin position, so in her 2 yrs, has only gone for one "boat ride". They went from SF down to Panama and back. Not sure how that works for reservists.

she is not a phsyically gifted person and only went in after graduating from College w/ her teaching degree and realized there were no jobs for that around here. But now she is totally into it and has no regrets. '

Talk to a local recruiter, I'm sure they have a ton of information.

 

[renaissance]

Yea I think I'm going to give the recruiter a call. I have a master's degree in public policy and am working now, but feel like I need a new challenge. Plus there's that whole benefit of serving my country and all

I was looking at coast guard and national guard bc I'm interested in doing something that could give me the chance to work in emergency/disaster response.

 

[Burgundy Burner]

Yea I think I'm going to give the recruiter a call. I have a master's degree in public policy and am working now, but feel like I need a new challenge. Plus there's that whole benefit of serving my country and all

I was looking at coast guard and national guard bc I'm interested in doing something that could give me the chance to work in emergency/disaster response.

Try Homeland Security.

 

[renaissance]

Try Homeland Security.

As in get a job with them? Yea, not so easy these days :kick_can:

 

[Burgundy Burner]

As in get a job with them? Yea, not so easy these days :kick_can:

I beg to pardon with ya.

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

As you probably know, I was able to pick up a degree in Homeland Security in 2009. I did it to keep my mind sharp and to learn some things. Too, my medical situation (as most everyone knows) keeps me retired for good now.

For the fun of it, I applied for a number of jobs and had A LOT of positive replies. Even at my age, some were practically begging me to pursue those jobs. Ultimately, I had to turn every one of them down - simply told them that I was no longer medically able to work. Maybe it was an ego trip, but it sure was nice to see that things could work in my favor.

How does this apply to you? You have youth in your favor. You have a Master's degree (granted, I have an MBA and this certainly was in my favor too) and that is a VERY STRONG positive for you. An undergrad is one thing, a graduate degree is akin to having more than just a foot in the door.

With government red tape, it will take some time. I know you can do it and there are many opportunities for you to choose - even in the DC region if you so desire. Ren, you have the abilities. You have the talent. You have the education. Grab on to the desire and it will put you over the top. Go for it.

With any decision that you make, good luck and best wishes. Your friends here are behind you 100%.

 

[Miles Monroe]

Any BGOers have any insight, thoughts, etc about the USCG reserves?

A friend of mine from the motorcycle club I belong to is USCG. I dropped him a line about it, knowing he's been involved for a long time now.

I am in the Coast Guard now, actually the Coast Guard Reserve, but I've been on Active Duty for the last 4 years. 18 years in, about 10 of that on Active total.

Yep, I've been to Cuba, Kuwait/Iraq, and Korea. I was just talking to a guy that has done two patrols off West Africa training their coast guard and Navy, cool port calls. Theres Coast Guard in the Middle East, Caribbean, Europe, Asia....Pretty much all over. We have fought in every major conflict the US has been involved in since 1790, including Vietnam where 11,000 Coasties served on large cutters doing blockade and naval gunfire support and running patrol boats up the rivers. There's even currently 3 Coasties in the SEAL teams, with 5 more going to BUDs every year. We have more battle streamers on our flag than any other service.

That said, the majority of work is here stateside, and Alaska Hawa'ii and Guam. The big cutters patrol world wide though, from the poles to the mideast...

As you may be able to tell, I am insanely proud of the Coast Guard. I'd be more than happy to talk to your buddy about the Guard from a realistic perspective, without that "recruiter shine" on it...Its a good time right now, they ****ed up their numbers again and right now theres no wait list to get in, they are actively looking for enlisted recruits. Last few years its been tough, what with the recession. This is an anomaly...


Anyway, you can give him my e-mail or my cell if you want, I don't mind at all.

Erik is out in Washington State, so if you do want to contact him, let me know, and I'll PM you his contact info.

 

[renaissance]

I beg to pardon with ya.

http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/

As you probably know, I was able to pick up a degree in Homeland Security in 2009. I did it to keep my mind sharp and to learn some things. Too, my medical situation (as most everyone knows) keeps me retired for good now.

For the fun of it, I applied for a number of jobs and had A LOT of positive replies. Even at my age, some were practically begging me to pursue those jobs. Ultimately, I had to turn every one of them down - simply told them that I was no longer medically able to work. Maybe it was an ego trip, but it sure was nice to see that things could work in my favor.

How does this apply to you? You have youth in your favor. You have a Master's degree (granted, I have an MBA and this certainly was in my favor too) and that is a VERY STRONG positive for you. An undergrad is one thing, a graduate degree is akin to having more than just a foot in the door.

With government red tape, it will take some time. I know you can do it and there are many opportunities for you to choose - even in the DC region if you so desire. Ren, you have the abilities. You have the talent. You have the education. Grab on to the desire and it will put you over the top. Go for it.

With any decision that you make, good luck and best wishes. Your friends here are behind you 100%.

Yea I have been applying for fed jobs but it's a pretty frustrating cycle for the most part, and I've worked for 2 federal agencies before!

A friend of mine from the motorcycle club I belong to is USCG. I dropped him a line about it, knowing he's been involved for a long time now.



Erik is out in Washington State, so if you do want to contact him, let me know, and I'll PM you his contact info.

This is awesome, thank you. If you wanna PM me that'd be much appreciated

 

[Skinzfan]

First, forget about the Coast Guard Reserves. Contact your local Coast Guard recruiter and ask them about Officer Candidate School (OCS). Why? Because you have a college degree.

As a civilian, you have to have a bachelors degree in order to apply for OCS. Having a Masters Degree puts you ahead of the others and I am not certain, but your degree in public policy may be a "preferred degree". A preferred degree is a degree in a field that the Coast Guard needs people. For example, when I went through OCS I had a Bachelors of Science degree in Finance; one of their preferred degrees. If you are accepted to OCS you will go through a 16-18 week officer school, located at the Coast Guard Academy, and will receive a reserve officer's commission. When I went through, it was a 3 year active and 5 year reserve commitment. You can extend that and receive a regular commission after being selected for Lieutenant (Captain for all you USMC, USA, USAF folks out there).

Being an officer in the Coast Guard was an exceptional experience for me. My career was a bit more varied than others because I was a staff officer, then I was the Commanding Officer of a Tactical Law Enforcement Detachment (TACLET). I had many deployments on Navy Ships w/my TACLET and also participated in Op Desert Storm. I was then selected for flight school and became a Coast Guard Helicopter pilot. I saw a lot of the world: every country in south and central America (except Belize for some reason) as well as England, Germany, Italy, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, and a several other countries.

Coasties, as we like to be called, get to go all over. It is what you make of it. As far as working in Homeland Security, I got a job in ICE after I left the Coast Guard and am loving every minute of it. Working in DHS is great. Go to USAJOBS as Burgandy Burner said above and look at the many different positions available. You don't need a degree in Homeland Security, there are plenty of opportunities for someone with your degree.

 

[renaissance]

Thanks Skinzfan. I'm interested in the reserves though because I want to be able to stay at home. I definitely need to talk to a recruiter to figure out what my best options would be given that.

 

[Miles Monroe]

This is awesome, thank you. If you wanna PM me that'd be much appreciated

Being one of our own has first hand knowledge, I'll hold off for now.

 

[renaissance]

Just set up an appt with a recruiter for Aug 16. I appreciate everyones input and will keep you updated. I also pm'd skinzfan but he hasn't signed on since then. whoops!

 

[renaissance]

Bump - Updated the OP, but I'm also looking in to the Air National Guard now as some of their career fields interest me. Appreciate any insight into them or the Air Force in general

 

[renaissance]

whats the deal with the service? are you looking to just be patriotic or do you want to further your education as well as serve?

Adventure, learn new skills, be challenged, do something different from my traditional day job, achieve something. I'm also interested in homeland security and disaster/emergency response which is why I'm looking at CG and ANG.

I'm traditional educationed out.

Edit: And despite popular belief I am not a COMPLETE hippie

 

[renaissance]

you think about the Navy at all?

see the world
schools are top notch
pay for more schooling
I went to the University of Maryland while in

with branches like the Marines, Army and even Airt Force sometimes when you get a duty station or assignment that is where you are going to be unless deployed to a different area. In the Navy when you deploy on WestPac you see several ports and some of them are places you would never go to on your own.

(not a shot at all at any of the other branches)

Just food for thought...hippie

Yea I glanced at them, but they are more limited in options for reservists and I'm more interested in reserves than active duty. I'm not opposed to deployment, but I don't want to be deployed/moving around for 3+ years if I can help it.

 

[renaissance]

right right...I guess I didnt think about that. When I joined I just lit a match and everything I owned I could put in a sea bag.

well get to thinkin, brah!

Meeting with an ANG recruiter this Sunday to see about setting up an appt for MEPS/take the ASVAB

Why didn't my thread title edit change the title on the main page?

 

[renaissance]

I'm in Annapolis now. I dunno how I made it through last winter. It was 10x worse than my first winter there.

 

[renaissance]

An update for all my interested followers ....

Met with the CG recruiter today. Basically I'm now considering active duty enlisted and Officer. I'm going to get together my stuff to apply for OCS and am considering enlisting in the meantime (OCS is extremely competetive right now, and I can keep applying every year once I enlist if I so choose). Of course, before I can worry about any of that I have to somehow get medical records from a broken arm when I was 12. Put in a call to the doc today so hopefully that won't be too much of a challenge.

I'm focusing on active duty bc if I can't go officer I'm looking at the intell rate, and even for reserves I'd be waiting 2 years to go to A School for that. So at least if I go enlisted I can get some other good experience and certifications in the meantime, all of which would hopefully improve my OCS app.

 

[Om]

An update for all my interested followers ....

Met with the CG recruiter today. Basically I'm now considering active duty enlisted and Officer. I'm going to get together my stuff to apply for OCS and am considering enlisting in the meantime (OCS is extremely competetive right now, and I can keep applying every year once I enlist if I so choose). Of course, before I can worry about any of that I have to somehow get medical records from a broken arm when I was 12. Put in a call to the doc today so hopefully that won't be too much of a challenge.

I'm focusing on active duty bc if I can't go officer I'm looking at the intell rate, and even for reserves I'd be waiting 2 years to go to A School for that. So at least if I go enlisted I can get some other good experience and certifications in the meantime, all of which would hopefully improve my OCS app.

Fighting the same battle right now for my son. He's enlisting in the AF after a 2-year experiment as an undergrad at CNU that turned out ... well ... he's joining the AF.

We've been at the med records thing for 2 months now. Kid had an operation (reflux) when he was 6 years old, in 1997. Kaiser got us their full medical file on it, including post-op letters from the surgeon giving him a clean bill and subsequent Kaiser follow ups doing the same. AF said it wasn't enough. Now waiting on Georgetown Hospital to research their archives to see if the full pathology reports (pre-op, op, post-op, any additional follow up) even exist.

Kid is going on three months into the process and hasn't even been able to take the ASVAB yet. Recruiter says with the current Delayed Entry Program, even after taking the ASVAB and getting his Specialty wish list lined up, he's looking at anywhere from 6-9 months before shipping to basic.

Apparently the AF is having no trouble finding recruits.

Anyway ... good on ya, brother Ren. Thanks for your future service.

 

[renaissance]

That's sister ren, thank you very much

But yea, I actually called my pediatrician and left a message last night and someone called me back at 830 this morning. Apparently they still have all my records, and were able to find a letter from the orthopedic doc saying that they removed my cast and everything was ok and he didn't anticipate any future effects/problems. So the doc's office is going to mail that to me and hopefully it will suffice. The recruiter didn't seem to think it was a big deal since there was no surgery involved, but we will see about that.

You're right though, I don't think the AF or anyone else is struggling to find recruits. The recruiters probably love it because it's pretty easy to weed out the folks who won't take the extra time to deal with stuff like this. Good luck to your son!