USCG OCS... officer oppurtunities?

[helmet91]

Does anyone know anything about being an officer in the Coast Guard? I realize this is a Navy site and we probably look down on the Coasties... BUT, I'm considering looking into their OCS program.

At this point I've been waiting for six weeks for my Navy OCS package to go through. I haven't heard anything so far and I have no clue how much longer I'll be waiting. I'm currently in the Naval Reserve (undesignated Airman/E-3) and I graduated from college a year ago. I'm working a temp job at a law office right now and I'm still living at home ( ) ). I want to serve my country in a greater capacity and the USNR is driving me nuts- all I do is attend stupid classes on drill weekends and do nothing of value. I put in a conversion package for IS, but there's no telling how long that could take to go through.

Last night I was tooling around on the 'net and I ran across the CG's site. I was looking at their requirements for OCS and they seem pretty lenient. How competitive of a program is it?

OCS is a rigorous seventeen-week course of instruction which prepares candidates to serve effectively as officers in the United States Coast Guard. In addition to indoctrinating students into a military life-style, OCS also provides a wide range of highly technical information necessary for performing the duties of a Coast Guard officer.

Graduates of the program receive a commission in the Coast Guard at the rank of Ensign and are required to serve a minimum of three years of active duty- that's it?. Graduates may be assigned to a ship, flight training, to a staff job, or to an operations ashore billet. However, first assignments are based on the needs of the US Coast Guard. Personal desires and performance at OCS are considered. All graduates must be available for world wide assignment.

Age:
Applicants for Officer Candidate must be between the ages of 21 and 26 I'll be 26 in a year and a half. Applicants may exceed this age limit by the number of months, up to 60, served on active duty in any Armed Forces branch.

Military Status:
Applications are accepted from college seniors currently enrolled in any ROTC program and any members of Armed Forces Reserves That's me. These applicants must provide a release from all other service obligations prior to entering the Coast Guard.

Citizenship:
All applicants must be United States citizens. [/Yes]

Officer Screening Tests:
All applicants must provide a qualifying score on the SAT, ACT, or ASVAB. No waivers will be considered. Minimum qualifying scores are as follows:
SAT: combined score 1000 on verbal and math I had a combined 1140
SAT 1: combined 1100 on verbal and math didn't take
ACT: 23 I got a 27
ASVAB: 109 on ASVAB General Technical Aptitude Area I'd have to look that up
A full medical screening will be conducted in accordance with your application.

Educational Qualifications:
Applicants must be in their senior year at or hold a baccalaureate got it or higher degree from an accredited college or university. Active duty Coast Guard personnel E-5 and above with at least four years of active duty in any Armed Forces have different educational qualifications. Contact your unit Educational Service Officer.

I can't believe there isn't a test similar to ASTB... do they seriously want SAT and ACT grades that I got six years ago in high school?

At this point in time I'm looking into contingency plans... if Navy OCS doesn't work out, I almost have a job with US Customs and Border Protection- all of the pre-employment requirements (drug screening, interviews, tests, background/security check, etc) are done; I'm just waiting on government bureaucracy :icon_rage . I have also considered going active duty Navy (enlisted obviously).

I suppose my biggest question is what does a Coastie officer do?? Am I going to be supervising life jacket inspections? Pops (AF officer) told me not even to bother with aviation because their equipment is quite outdated... I'd like to see if they have some sort of intel program so I can make use of my debt... I mean education (poli sci, history, & european studies).

Any info would be great. Thanks.

 

[zab1001]

Maybe you should contact a USCG officer recruiter...

Coast Guard aircraft are NOT outdated. Do a google search and check it out. Their Hercs are old, but still do the job. I've worked with USCG helos, Hercs, and ships on SAR missions and they do a great job, every day.

As far as the 3yr commitment, it's probably correct for guys doing small boats/surface ship tours. Most of the USCG guys I knew in primary had already done a 2-3 yr stint with a small boat station and then re-upped for flight school, which back then I believe was a 6 yr commitment after wings for the coasties (this was a LONG time ago, so it may have changed or I could be wrong). They were all O-2s, all had the USCG equivalent of a SWO pin and a load of ribbons.

I think Skidzt is a Coastie in primary, maybe he can speak up.

 

[helmet91]

thanks for that info...
There is a recruiter in town that I will be contacting shortly- I just wanted to see if anyone on here had the inside scoop. I suppose the aviation comment is coming from a biased AF officer . I'll screw around on the 'net and see what else I can dig up.

 

[stevew]

Zab: Love your signature, its hilarilious! :bouncy_12

 

[zab1001]

I heard it's the same in the Coast Guard too. They have choker whites and dining outs as well. In fact, more, because they don't deploy.

 

[PudriK]

helmet, talk to a CG recruiter, they can give you the skinny on how to apply. I came in from the CG Academy, but I know several OCS grads, including my former roommate and a couple in my API class, who could provide you with more detailed info.

As for our aviation assets, that officer was full of it. First, the Navy has some old birds, too. (CH-46, P-3.) Nothing we have is THAT old. There is no bad platform in the Coast Guard. Our HH-65s are being re-engined soon, with new electronics. And we are in the middle of a new acqusition program, although we prob won't see the new aircraft until 2010.

Obligation is eight years following flight school.

If, coming out of OCS, you don't get selected for flight immediately, you could be assigned to a Coast Guard cutter or shore-duty, doing logistics, ship inspections, engineering, personnel... depends on your background and interests. You won't serve as an officer at a small boat station, or do boat inspections. Those are enlisted jobs.

You can apply repeatedly for flight school while you're there. Most student aviators here served at least one tour somewhere else before getting here. I was a student engineer on a ship, then I wrote contract specifications for ship reparis at an office station. (My background is Mech Eng.) The two OCS grads in my class did less than a year at a shore station, one at a marine safety office (ship inspections, spill response), the other, I think, at an Operations center (coordinates patrols and SARs).

The Coast Guard is a great organization. It's small, so it's more personal than the Navy. We do good work every day, instead of waiting around to go to war. And it's mostly INCONUS. We get many helo pilots who transfer in from the Navy or Army late in life if they want to keep flying but are tired of deploying. The only deployable air asset we have are our small helos, and then only for a couple months at a time, for the most part. (Caribbean patrols, mostly, but there are a few who get to do the sixth month trips on the ice-breakers.)

What else do you want to know?

 

[helmet91]

Pudrik- thanks for the great information! concerning the CG aviation comment... don't mind my dad he's an old AF nav.

I'm going to contact the local CG recruiter tomorrow to see what I can do. From looking at the OCS info from the CG site I seem to have all the requirements met.

In all honesty I wouldn't mind any job as a Coastie. I would love to fly helos- I have a soft spot for SAR helos... one pulled dad outta the Baltic in 1981. My background is poli sci/history/europe so maybe an intel job of some sort would work too. I guess the recruiter can help me out with that.

Concerning the commitment- 20 years is fine with me. I have 2+ in the USNR right now... retiring at 42 won't be a bad deal.

I'll keep everyone updated...

 

[GTDaveMac]

I heard it's the same in the Coast Guard too. They have choker whites and dining outs as well. In fact, more, because they don't deploy.

Don't deploy? Tell that to some of my OCS classmates that went to Cutters or MSSTs.

Anyway, I can answer questions too. I am at a shore unit awaiting acceptance to flight school (hopefully in two weeks! )

And the eight year commitment for flight school is on top of the three year OCS commitement. So 11 years if you get flight school out of OCS.

 

[shannon scaff]

Not really sure how to take your posts Helmet? I have been in the Coast Guard for twelve years served as a resuce swimmer for nearly eight of them, will graduate in a little over a week from OCS and then will head to flight school where I will learn how to fly the awesome helos that i have jumped out of so that I may continue to do the Coast Guards mission, (to save lives, in case you haven't heard). We are Not outdated, and receive a great deal of respect from the other services, just as we continue to respect them. Sorry for the run-on sentence, but in this intense program, we are limited in time. Please let me know if I can clear up any other rumors that you may have heard about the service that I have dedicated my life to.

 

[helmet91]

I'm not knocking anyone (if you want to knock someone- it should be me, the "weekend warrior," right?)... if anything I was under the impression some folks in the Nay looked down on the CG; hence, my apprehension at first asking for info. apparently this isn't much of an issue... on this site at least. the folks on sailorbob are slightly different.

concerning "outdated" airframes... this is coming from my dad, not me. I'm the one asking questions trying to figure out what options I have.

the lifejacket check was meant in jest; sorry to have offended anyone. I'm genuinely interested in what a CG officer does so I figured I'd ask the question. I realize lifesaving and the like is job #1, but what about coastal defense or drug runner interdiction?

I'm really not sure where you got any negativity from my posts? If anything I'm the victim of biased information. That's why I'm posting. I'd like to make an educated decision as well as obtain good info before I go to the recruiter.

 

[GTDaveMac]

In addition to answers you may get here, www.coastguardocs.com has a wealth of information (as does navyocs.com, etc, etc) Unfortunately, the sites have been down for about a month after they were hacked. Hopefully they will be back soon. Who knows if they will contain the information that was there previously.

 

[GTDaveMac]

"I can't believe there isn't a test similar to ASTB... do they seriously want SAT and ACT grades that I got six years ago in high school?"

CG uses the ASTB for flight school applications. But yes, getting in to OCS requires SAT, ACT, or ASVAB. No one says you can't retake any of these tests if you want/need them to be better.

"Officer recruiter" - unfortunately, no such thing. And the recruiters sometimes aren't as interested in OCS candidates as they should be. You will have to be on your toes to make sure that your application is complete, so don't just listen to the recruiter... do your research.

Also, there are application deadlines a few times a year, and then about a 3-4 month wait until the board convenes.

As far as what an officer in the Coast Guard does? It really varies. You could go to a Cutter, an MSST (Marine Safety and Security Team), a Sector (doing Marine Safety or Operations Ashore), Electronics Support Unit, Intel, or you could go to flight school and become a CG aviator. There are more... read this, especially the officer career path section.

THE COAST GUARD OFFICER CAREER DEVELOPMENT GUIDEBOOK
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-w/g-wt/g-wtl/ocgb/book.pdf

I would say the only downside to the way the CG works it (vs. Navy OCS), is that you go to OCS with your desires and skillset, but don't have a guarantee whether you will be assigned to a cutter or flight school. After being in for a year, I can say that things usually work out. You may not get your desired billet your first time.... some do... some don't, but you can move around after you get your commission. There is a program called Blue 21, which is guaranteed flight school after OCS, but I don't know too much about it:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/dc/dcprograms/blue21.htm

 

[helmet91]

thanks again for all the info... i'll sift through everything over the coming days.

I think my ACT and SAT grades are pretty good considering I was a punk high school kid when I took them. I'll start studying again for the ASTB, just in case.

Do you think there is a regional recruiter somewhere that is interested in OCS or am I going to be stuck with the local guy? Hopefully he's helpful.

thanks again!

 

[Physicx]

Is the commitment really 11 years.It used to be six out of ocs.And how hard is it to get a slot out of OCS?I know they ask for volunteers and test you.And do you have to do a non flying billet?Thanks

 

[Bravo14]

This won't really flow with what being talked about-but here is my experience so far with CG OCS. 23 year old civilian, 125 GT on the ASVAB, 3.0 GPA-Business Management and work in accounting so far. I submitted my package in September, the selection committee met NOV 1, and tomorrow, 12-3-04 is the earliest date the results MIGHT be posted. Usually, the list is released 4 weeks after the first Friday after the selection committee met. I had an interview with 3 officers, as well as 3 letters of Rec. I had 4, one from a tank commander, a Navy captain etc etc. I also have already gone through MEPS. If I am selected, the class I will attend will be JAN 06 2005. I like my package and my interview was ok-wasn't easy by any means. This is my 2nd time around-once with the Navy and now with the CG. I got the run around with the Navy and moved on to the CG. I have heard that the CG will have three OCS classes per year, up from previous years. I can only hope to get in. If not, I think I will enlist, just dont know which branch. If someone has application questions, fire away. Bravo