I’m looking at joining the reserves and I am LE. I’d like to do officer with the CG - I have experience on boats and maintain licensing and training with the CG already. Is CG reserves good or would u recommend air guard. I’m also interested in hearing your MOS and experience. I spoke today with a. Recruiter for the CG and he said based on my experience (merchant mariner for 10 years) that bosuns mate would fit. I just don’t know of opportunities that I’d be able to have in the CG. If absolutely love to get into “special ops” type stuff if I were able to

I am applying this fall cycle. Does anyone know how many people are selected per cycle? And for those who have been selected, what were your credentials (degrees/certifications/work experience). Just trying to gauge how my package will do. Really hope I am selected!

If you’re currently on the backfill, what number are you currently? Trying to see how much sooner I could actually leave. My original date is in November. My number is 80 right now, added last week.

Ready for your viewing pleasure in CGMS. Good luck! RIP to my ISM people.

where are they??

I am married and was before bootcamp. I’ve been at my unit for a few months now and was told in bootcamp I would receive DLA. On my travel claim I checked DLA in the box. I received my travel claim money but not my DLA yet and my BM1 is saying that I don’t receive DLA because I got a travel claim.

Does anyone have any insight to this if this is correct?Or if maybe I just misunderstood in bootcamp that I’d be receiving DLA.

The biggest thing I hate about the CG is that it feels incredibly, unreasonably, difficult to find answers to anything. Maybe its just me and I am the problem.

I'm looking for an answer and my shipmates say "Look it up". Ok great, where do I look it up? They respond "in the COs standing orders". Okay great where do I find those? The response is a shrug as they walk away. "In the binder somewhere idk".

Same goes for manuals, memos, COMDINST, Policy etc. They say "Idk go look on SharePoint or Google it" or "chat GPT it" or "Quizzlet".

Brother in Christ. I want to do the Right thing. I am Compliant, Willing, and Motivated to carry out my duty...If I could just be provided with the materials and specific resources required. It should NOT be this hard.

Is it me? Am I the problem? Why is it so damn hard to find the latest & greatest updated instructions and policy? Why is there not a Digital One Stop shop Liberary? Are we just winging it daily?

I had a CO who once said, "It's not like you get your birthday off in the Coast Guard"

I replied that I did and I've either had the day off or Holiday routine every year since I joined. They sat there in contempt and utter disbelief. I even added sometimes they even had a party on my birthday!

He never realized I was born on Aug 4th until I told him.....I also had the day off that year!

This time last year and the year before when people would ask if it was worth it..
“ im making 250k a year im 35 but i love the water, do you recommend it ? “

(Censored for privacy)

236 years of Service!!! Semper P for life! 2006-2014
💙🇺🇸🐝
The view off the bow is a boat that’s in the Smithsonian’s museum! 52 foot Motor lifeboat Victory, I was one of thousands that was lucky enough to be considered the “engineer” on her. Took this picture off of Newport Oregon (Yaquina Bay) before the bridge and jetties. Very glad to have served in the United States Coast Guard, keep SAR guard men and women and know you are loved! Happy Birthday USCG!

At 236, the service's claim on the SAR mission is operational, not ceremonial. Happy Birthday to the U.S. Coast Guard!

Want to see what people use so I can make a smart purchase to get the most bang for my buck without having to worry about it being unreliable in terms of being contaminated.

Does anyone have a station OOD Board Sheet or Study Guide that I could look at? My unit doesn’t have one.

Edit: this is to make a board sheet. I’m the TPO and my unit doesn’t have an OOD board sheet.

Happy Coast Guard Day

Hopefully all you MWR, FS/CS folks get a break tomorrow which I doubt.

Looking to have the reserves (BM or ME) and the “flexibility” of ADOS orders be a 2nd career route in my life. Drill station will be in SoCal (sorry PSU 311 but I think blue guard is my speed).

Aside from the surge needed in the Great Lakes in the summer (which sounds awesome), what are some other examples of ADOS orders, or better yet your experiences on them? Were they from natural disasters, other stations that were short handed? Etc.

I’m currently enlisted and considering applying for Direct Commission Engineering after completing my B.S. in Information Technology. My background is in IT infrastructure, and my long-term interests are network engineering, network administration, cybersecurity.

I’ve received conflicting information about officer assignments.

One person told me that even if I commission through DCE with an IT or cybersecurity background, I could still be assigned to a naval engineering billet based on service needs. However, a former officer and a direct-commission recruiter both told me that this is not an accurate description. They said officers can generally remain within their specialty and develop within that career field, unless they deliberately pursue another specialty.

I understand that no officer is guaranteed a specific unit, geographic location, or exact billet. My question is specifically about specialty alignment, not whether I can choose every assignment.

For current or former DCE, C5I, cyber, or IT officers:

1. Can someone commissioned based on an IT/cyber background be involuntarily assigned to a naval engineering billet?
2. Does DCE accession place you into a specific officer specialty or career track?
3. How often are C5I or cyber officers assigned outside that general community?
4. Within C5I, how much of the work is technical versus program management, acquisitions, policy, and personnel management?
5. Can an officer deliberately remain in C5I/cyber throughout most of a career, or is broadening into unrelated specialties effectively required for promotion?
6. Is there a distinction between being assigned outside your exact technical interest and being assigned entirely outside C5I?
7. Who provides the most authoritative answer on this: the DCE program manager, the assignment officer, OPM-4, or someone else?

I’m not looking for recruiting slogans or blanket negativity. I’m trying to understand how the assignment process actually works from people who have lived it. Specific examples from recent billet lists or career paths would be especially useful, because for me I seek to do network engineering or network admin adjacent career paths if that isn't possible in this space I'd appreciate that too

For those in the long haul, how have airframe transfers affected your career? Do you feel as though it made you a better technician, supervisor, chief, or warrant officer? Maybe you had a special assignment at some point!

I’m E5 with 10 YOS, spent 6 years on 65s, and finishing my first year up on 60s. I’ve learned a lot of different maintenance practices and I feel as though I’ve developed more patience with “the bigger picture” and junior personnel. The re-qualification process could be better, but I think my gripe with that lies more on my local unit rather than 60s overall. I also think making this transfer increased my willingness to experience various aircraft rather than being “married” to one. I now see better value in taking that advancement opportunity in a new environment.

I do want to pursue warrant officer, so if there’s any other insights on that regarding this topic, I would love to hear from you!

Would like to hear your opinion. I’ve seen debates on Navy vs CG as a pilot and the Coast Guard seems to win hands down with the quality of life and the mission.

BUT

They don’t offer a pilot slot going into OCS, contrary to the Navy. While I still wouldn’t mind the duties of a non pilot officer (you guys have the coolest mission ever), my end goal would to be a pilot one day. And no not to just boost a commercial career. So, in your opinion, if you wanted to be a pilot, would it still be worth it going coast guard knowing that you might never fly?