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Advice on short-touring/going second tour

SamAca10

New Member
Hey guys! Just found out that I'm going to be spending my first tour on 270'. Although I was a little bummed, I'm going to take this opportunity to learn about the fleet/the operational Coast Guard. I still want to get down to Pensacola ASAP though and am going to work as hard as possible to get fully qualified so I can put in a package.

Does anyone know how long it takes to get fully qualifed to put in another package? I know the panels meet in December and March...
 

HercDriver

Idiots w/boats = job security
pilot
Super Moderator
Congrats - hope you are somewhere on the East Coast you like (I'd love to be in Boston, myself...the base is a short walk to great restaurants/short stumble to great bars).

Hopefully someone with more current time will chime in, but my classmates from OCS (this was 15 years ago, YMMV), who wanted to go to flight school, but got cutters did two years on board their cutter before they were able to make it to Pensacola. Guessing your command might have qualms about a billet gap if they let you go early, and much was dependent on the command letting you go.

Best of luck!
 

Brunes

Well-Known Member
pilot
I applied for the first board I was eligible for on the boat...The package never made it off the boat because my CO wanted me fully qual'd with some experience to fall back on if flying "didn't work out the way I thought it would"
I worked my tail off and got a glowing command endorsement for the next board and got picked up off that and PSC'd on schedule to flight school.

It's not impossible to short tour to get to Pensacola, but I'd anticipate staying your full tour length on the boat for the reasons listed above.
Use the time to gain managerial/leadership experience because you will have some small potatoes opportunities in flight school and you may not have subordinates again until toward the end of your first flight tour. I went two years before had 2 JGs working for me here at the Air Station...I ran the whole OPS dept. on my cutter for a month and change on the cutter...
 
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