The full suite of benefits available may depend on the nature of the veteran's dismissal — usually an honorable discharge or retirement is necessary for access to all benefits.
The Coast Guard, a branch of the U. Armed Forces, was established in through a combination of different organizations. After the American Revolutionary War , the U. Navy was disbanded. By , Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton realized that some kind of naval enforcement agency was needed to make sure tariffs were properly collected.
Ten ships called cutters with a crew of 10 men each went into service in as the Revenue Cutter Service. Because these cutters were frequently out on patrol when naval accidents occurred, they naturally found themselves in the position to perform search-and-rescue operations.
Military conflicts in the next few decades led the Revenue Cutter Service to take on port defense tasks. The advent of American fishing around the coast of Alaska created a need for ice breaking and winter rescue capabilities these remain Coast Guard specialties today. A separate service operated the lighthouses and other navigational aids across the United States until that, too, was merged with the Coast Guard. In , the Revenue Cutter Service merged with the U. Life-Saving Service, and was officially renamed the Coast Guard, charged with both saving lives at sea and enforcing maritime laws.
Although the Coast Guard is ostensibly a defensive and law enforcement organization, active duty members receive basic weapons training, and most Coast Guard vessels are armed in some way. When the United States has gone to war, the Coast Guard has gone too.
Some of the Coast Guard's most notable wartime service came during World War II, when numerous Coast Guard cutters provided escorts to the transport convoys traversing the North Atlantic.
Refitted with additional guns and depth charges, the cutters' took on a very dangerous duty, watching for German U-boats submarines. Coast Guard crews had better training conducting sea-to-land assaults, so the landing ships at Normandy and other marine invasions in World War II were usually piloted by a Coast Guard seaman.
These are to:. For lots more information about the U. Coast Guard and related topics, check out the links on the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close.
Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe. How the U. Coast Guard Works. Members of the U. Preventing smuggling of illegal goods or untaxed goods into U.
Making sure shipping companies pay all the appropriate tariffs and taxes on goods they ship into the United States. Preventing smugglers from bringing drugs into the United States. The Coast Guard seizes 1, pounds of cocaine and pounds of marijuana on an average day. Preventing the illegal dumping of chemicals, illegal fishing or hunting of marine life and otherwise enforcing marine environmental protection laws.
Searching for and rescuing anyone who needs help in a marine environment, including storm-wracked boats and ships, refugees and immigrants trying to float to the United States, and anyone else involved in an accident at sea. The Coast Guard conducts 42 search and rescue cases and saves 12 lives on an average day. Preventing illegal immigration. The Coast Guard interdicts 18 illegal migrants on an average day. Watching out for terrorist attacks and other hostile forces trying to attack the United States by sea.
The Coast Guard screens merchant vessels for potential security threats before arrival in U. Enforcing maritime laws, train civilians and commercial shipping crews in maritime safety, and ensure the speed, safety and reliability of transportation in United States coastal waters.
Coast Guard Hierarchy " ". Coast Guard. District 9 - The five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway and parts of the surrounding states including 6, miles of shoreline and 1, miles of the international border with Canada.
In addition, normal color perception, depth perception, and field of vision are also required. Your son or daughter can join on a full time active duty or part time reserve basis. Depending upon their citizenship, education level, or prior-military service, they may enter at either the enlisted or officer level. Potential enlisted members must have a high school degree or equivalent. Officer candidates must have or be working toward a college degree.
Active-duty enlistees and officer candidates can select from among a variety of job specialties. Many officer programs are available targeting college sophomores and juniors, college graduates, those with professional degrees and aviation training, and current Coast Guard enlisted personnel with college degrees.
Deployment generally refers to an extended assignment away from your home base. Larger Coast Guard cutters may have extended deployments of up to three months or longer during which they patrol and visit other ports. However, mid-size and smaller cutters as well as air assets generally function in and around the home base where your son or daughter is assigned and generally deploy for a few days to a few weeks at a time.
By law, as a member of the Coast Guard Reserve, you must, upon request, be granted a leave of absence to satisfy a requirement for military training. The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act says that employers are required to provide reservists with time away from their jobs to perform military duty. However, you must notify your employer that you intend to take military leave.
You must be re-employed after completion of your military duty and returned to your job within a reasonable time. You must be treated as though you had never left employment, including scheduled pay raises, promotions or credit for longevity or vacation. Your employer has to hold a job for up to 60 months if you accept voluntary orders. The Coast Guard has multiple Reserve openings and occasionally active duty positions for qualified physician assistants PA, please contact:.
Physician Assistant Force Manager Enlistment into the U. Coast Guard, or any branch of the U. Applicants must speak, read, and write English fluently. The U. Questions concerning immigration to the United States should be asked of the U.
Only after immigration procedures are completed and an applicant is legally in the United States may an application for enlistment be accepted. Drills are periods are Inactive-Duty Training IDT , under orders, scheduled for the performance of augmentation training, formal training, or unit training. No more than two drills can be performed on one calendar day, and each drill must be at least four hours long. Most units schedule multiple drills over one weekend each month two drills Saturday and two drills Sunday.
They are a small group within the U. Coast Guard, only about of them service-wide. The Coast Guard's rescue swimmers are the brave young men and women who hoist or free fall from a helicopter into dangerous seas to perform daring rescues. The rescue swimmer training school has one of the highest student attrition rates of any special operations school in the military. Roughly 75 students go through the school each year, and fewer than half complete the training.
It really depends on what type of unit you go to. Life at a small boat station is different than life on a ship. Most boot camp graduates will receive orders to a ship. You must remember that everyone in the Coast Guard has started at the bottom and worked their way up. It is very important that you maintain an excellent attitude during this time! Your supervisor will be watching to determine what type of worker you are.
Opportunity and respect are given to those who deserve it. At this point, you will start to perform the duties of a crewman at your unit. You may be going on rescue missions, assisting with law enforcement, working aids to navigation, or whatever the mission of the unit may require. Phase II of the training differs:. RK: Someone who returns home after boot camp and returns to a civilian school.
During the first summer following boot camp, you will usually attend a Class 'A' school. Between boot camp and A-school training, you'll drill two days per month at a Coast Guard unit near your home.
RP: reports directly to an A school after boot camp, and following school, begins monthly drills. Boot camp is an eight-week long training session at the U. Boot camp is tough, both mentally and physically! Its purpose is to prepare you for life in the Coast Guard. Much of your training will take place in a classroom where you will learn valuable skills such as first aid, fire fighting, weapons handling, practical seamanship, and general Coast Guard knowledge. You will have daily physical fitness classes and spend time at the pool learning water-survival techniques.
The CC has the responsibility to make a hard-working, efficient team out of 50 or 60 strangers. The CC will teach you military drill, which includes marching, handling the M-1 Garand rifle, and showing you the ropes of U. Coast Guard life. Study the entire book. There is a lot of very important information in it. Pay particular attention to the list of items you cannot bring to boot camp, the 11 General Orders, and the Position of Attention. Also, prepare yourself for physical fitness training.
Active-duty service is a full-time commitment for the period of the enlistment while reserve service is a part-time commitment, 2 days a month and 2 weeks a year. Please note that reservists are subject to active-duty activation in times of national need. The United States Coast Guard is a military, multi-mission, maritime service within the Department of Homeland Security and one of the nation's five armed services.
Its core roles are to protect the public, the environment and the U. These capabilities underpin our three broad roles: maritime safety, maritime security and maritime stewardship. There are 11 missions that are interwoven within these roles:. Coast Guard personnel can be called upon to serve overseas during time of national emergency or on routine deployments of cutters overseas. In fact, Coast Guard personnel have served in every major conflict including Desert Storm and the Iraq war.
However, as a member of the Department of Homeland Security, the majority of Coast Guard assets are used to enforce the law on the seas, protect natural resources and the environment in the nation's ports, major waterways, and homeland coastal waters.
Located in New London, CT. About High School graduates enroll annually, leaving four years later with a Bachelor of Science degree and commission as an Ensign. Graduates experience much more than intellectual growth. The opportunity to develop physically, morally, and spiritually sets the Academy apart.
Seventy percent compete in Division I and II intercollegiate sports. Cadets also earn a modest paycheck. Graduates are obligated to serve for five years upon graduation. Applications are accepted on-line. The annual application deadline is February 1. There are no congressional nominations. We encourage you to talk personally with your Admissions Officer. Director of Admissions U. Coast Guard Academy is a highly selective, degree granting institution that graduates commissioned officers.
For more information, including eligibility requirements, visit the Coast Guard Academy website. In the Coast Guard, you can attend any training school you want, permitted you qualify for it. In addition, you need normal color vision to enter into the aviation rates, and any rate that requires you to navigate or work with electricity.
It is important to know that all of our schools have waiting lists. They range from a few months to over two years for some ratings.
You must have a minimum of 30 months remaining on your enlistment before you can enter any Class A school. If the school you want has a very lengthy wait, you may need to extend your enlistment a number of months to bring the total left on your enlistment up to 30 months. This is training for a specialty you have chosen.
It may involve work details and duty, but the main focus is on technical and professional training. You will be paid for every day you are in the Coast Guard.
You will receive pay according to published pay schedules for your pay grade, in addition to any temporary duty or travel allowances due you. For reserve, depending on the program, you will receive boot camp and maybe A-school training. Weekend or weekday drills are considered training. Basic training is tough.
It's eight weeks of physical and mental challenges. Boardings are an all-hands evolution and come at all hours of the day and night.
One night at about 11 p. The Forward was under strict orders to board any vessel departing Haitian waters. A handful of enlisted members and two officers were chosen to go on the boarding.
The six men and women climbed down a ladder from the safety of the cutter to a waiting Coast Guard small boat in the black of night. Because the captain of the foot cargo ship spoke little English, a Haitian interpreter accompanied the team. In heavy seas, the team motored over to a third-world style vessel consumed by rust, corrosion, and filth. The boarding team had to leap aboard at the risk of falling into the dark Caribbean Sea. Once aboard the rickety old cargo ship, the boarding team fanned out and checked every space for drugs, migrants, and weapons, taking care not to slip through one of the many rust holes that dotted the interior and exterior of the ship.
The boarding officer and assistant boarding officer headed to the bridge to check passports, visas, and shipping documents. Even though there were only six Coast Guardsmen on board the cargo ship, there were many more back at the Forward supporting them. The combat control center kept close contact with the 7th District and reported every detail of the boarding back to them. Electronics technicians controlled cameras and spotlights, helping officers and chiefs on the bridge keep a sharp lookout for the men and women sent to board a virtually unknown vessel.
Engineers responded to every speed and pitch command from the personnel on the bridge. There was even a cook in the galley preparing a hot meal for the crew after the boarding was complete.
Each department, each division, and each person on board the Forward rely upon one another to accomplish their missions. Cutter teams all across the Coast Guard are answering the call to duty. This means less time at home with loved ones and less time in port where a phone call can be made.
The crew of the Forward is aware of the change, but few seem concerned. No matter how long their patrols are, the crew of the Forward will continue to operate with the rest of the cutter fleet. Crews will patrol the waters of faraway lands and those close to home just as they have done for the past years.
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