Coast Guard

[Huggyu2]

So, psysicx:
- have you begun any flight training toward a private pilot's license?
- If not, what aviation training do you have? If none, that's fine too.
- how much college coursework do you have done?
- what are your longterm goals?
- what do you do for a living?

 

[XShipRider]

Key to Success = Keep Applying

I'm a CG Herc driver and hopefully I can help you out with a little insight.
Getting into Coast Guard OCS is competitive just like any other military officer
program. If you have a degree with decent grades you should have as good a
chance as anyone else so put in an app and see what happens.

Having sent more than one young enlisted person to OCS I'm almost qualified
to give advice on this topic. The key to OCS is to APPLY, APPLY, APPLY.
There is a very good chance of being turned down more than a few times.
This is normal as the slots for OCS in general are limited. The Herc driver
above is correct, it is competitive! The Coast Guard does NOT take
appointments (though a nice letter from your Congressmen* can't hurt -
wink, wink, nudge, nudge).

I would further suggest reading a few books on the Coast Guard. These
can be any number of books on any topic current or historical. There are
very good books out there which will give a background in CG history,
missions and even a few on futurespeak. Your local library (if it's well
stocked at all) will have several titles authored by retired servicemembers.
If your library doesn't have anything try an inter-library loan, Amazon.com,
or www.usni.org (The Naval Institute's website). Book titles run the gamut
from pre-Revolutionary history to Vietnam.

Some basic advice... If you're coming in from the outside (civilian vs. coming
in as an enlisted member) you will want to put forth a resume with the
best GPA possible, some documented community service, a clean credit
and driving record and a few letters of recommendation (ministers, employers,
teachers, professors, any law enforcers you may know, former coaches, etc.,
essentially anyone of credibility who can put in a good word for you). All
these items make it clear you are the pair of shoes that shine in the shoe
store (the brown** shoe store!). And remember... APPLY, APPLY, APPLY.
Nothing in this paragraph guarantees you a slot.

One more resource - visit a unit near you if possible. Talk to some of the
officers there (mentor?). You especially want to talk to an OCS graduate.
I'm not denigrating Academy grad's but you want to talk to someone
who has taken the OCS route. All pilots can give you insight into the
type of flying to be expected. Disclaimer: If you run into a pilot (albeit extremely
rare) who displays a negative attitude toward the service, unit or aircraft type - run. This
person is probably not flying the type aircraft desired (fixed v. rotary or vice versa), was
passed over for promotion or didn't get a desired unit. As I said - rare as it is - there are
a few pilots out there who pollute the gene pool with a bad attitude.

Do not take rejection to heart. The competition can be fierce. Do not
allow frustration to enter into your application process. Determination
will be recognized by the selection committee. I've known enlisted persons
who applied three and four times before being accepted, the slots just
weren't available. APPLY, APPLY, APPLY! Don't stop applying until the
acceptance letter arrives.

Good luck.

* A letter from your State House and Senate Representative and their Federal counterparts
will look nice but supposedly does not unduly influence the selection process. If one of
the Federal members is on the House Ways and Means Committee and/or any one of
a dozen finance committees.... it certainly can't hurt!
** Brown shoes were once worn by aviators while tub drivers wore black shoes.

My qualifications (if you please) for this thread: retired, QM turned RM turned TC, 4 ship tours,
2 air station tours (most enjoyable units), district tour, ESU tour. Worked in the OCC of a
fractional provider for 2.5 years after I retired.

 

[ck130]

Greetings All,

Just to add a little more info, hopefully without stirring the pot too much, the Coast Guard does have a guaranteed flight school program. If you are accepted, you will be guaranteed a seat in flight school after OCS, and you will know this before you ever show up to OCS. The program is called Blue 21. Here's the catch. You have to be a graduate of a traditionally black university with an aviation degree. This is an attempt to raise minority numbers in our pilot ranks because the Coast Guard literally has a handful of minority pilots. In fact our first ever black female pilot is graduating from P-Cola very soon. For everyone else, including white females, you have to go to OCS first and then compete for a slot. Now before everyone gets themselves wrapped around the axel and starts slinging flaming arrows about how unfair this is let me refer you to my original post.

I don't know any qualified officers that wanted to go to flight school who did not get the chance eventually. And, CG aviation is still about 95% white males (my estimate) and will not be changing drastically anytime soon. So rest assured, if you are a quality individual with motivation and persistance, you will get your chance.

Oh, on the whole question about whether civilian time prior to flight school helps or hurts, it defintitely helps. In fact all CG aviators (and maybe Navy too?) are required to get about 25 hrs at a civilian flight school before showing up to P-Cola. The powers that be want to know that you really want to fly and have a basic apptitude for it before they let you "drink from the fire hose". So..if you already have a private pilot or greater, you get to skip the civilian FBO thing and go straight to P-Cola. A bonus in my book.

Fly Safe,
ck130

 

[qmaster3]

if you are a quality individual with motivation and persistance, you will get your chance

Or if you have tits, or aren’t a white male.



To applicants:



NEVER check caucasian male in the Race section, they don’t question you.

 

[Huggyu2]

Hey psysicx, you still out there? Any answers to the above questions?

 

[ck130]

qmaster3,

Well you're half right....you get no extra points for the mammary glands. At least not from the selection board.

ck130

 

[psysicx]

How do you like flying hercs.What does there TDY rate look like?

 

[Huggyu2]

C'mon, psysicx.... let us know what you're trying to do so we can help. So how about answering those questions above?

 

[psysicx]

Alright here are the answers you want to know.Right now I'm in college working on my ratings.I haven't decided if I want to go mil or civ.As for all of my questions it doesn't mean I'm looking for a job.I like to see whats out there before commiting to something.Thats why you see me all over the place.I went back to college to decide whats best for me.

 

[Huggyu2]

Excellent! Are you working on fixed wing or helicopter experience right now? Can I assume you don't have your private yet?
Remember, that even without the private pilot's license, Guard/Reserve units like seeing you getting flying time. If you go that route, pick carefully. Make sure you like the location, the mission, and commitment, and the guys/gals in the unit.
You mention you are BACK in college. Did you do anything aviation related while you were out?
Have you started "rushing" any guard/reserve units yet?