midwestcop
New Member
I've been following USCG message boards for a couple years. I have been eligible to apply to OCS since 2007, but have waited because I am enrolled in a master's program that I wanted to first finish so I would be more competitive in the process. I'm finishing my graduate degree this year and am preparing my packet for the upcoming Blue 21 / OCS boards, but from what I've been hearing I may not have made a good choice by waiting to apply. I realize it's always been tough to become a Coast Guard officer, but some of the people on other message boards are painting a pretty grim picture of USCG officer hiring over the next few years. For instance, I heard there are only 35 people in the current OCS class, less than 10 of which came from the civilian with no prior military pool. Some people are suggesting that the 80-90 person OCS classes common for the last few years may not happen for awhile. Even worse, others are using the current OCS class to predict that there may be less than 25 civilians applicants hired per year (out of roughly 1,000 who apply). Do any of you know if this is true? If so, when do you anticipate hiring taking an upswing? Any information you could provide would be helpful. Thank you...