Coast Guard

I did 4 years in the Coast Guard and it was the longest four years of my life. Boot camp sucked, "A" school sucked, and my first and LAST!! unit was HORRIBLE. Our unit seriously needed its own reality show. Everone was on a power trip, "page 7" (Coast guard write up") trip, or tattle taling and just making life tough for no reason. The only reason I would join the coast guard is for the Post 9/11 GI bill. Other than that it isnt worth it. The only way you will advance is to be a kiss ass with your command (Coast Guard bosses) and if your not a kiss ass like I was your just stuck at E-4 forever. REMEMBER you are also paided salary so you will be working 60 hour weeks your whole carrear for know reason other than to make your command look good. If your a single E-3 you will only be making 26,000 a year which isn't crap compared to the hours and BS you put up with. Also, 90% of the people you will meet in your carreer will be people who A. Joined because they had too because they have 2 o... Read more

The United States Coast Guard is the absolute worst branch of the military. I hated every minute of my service. There's no solidarity in there, and the people can't be trusted. Everyone is out to hang each other. Some of the most unqualified people I've seen advance because the Coast Guard is cliquish. I was happy as hell when I left the Coast Guard. In fact, I burned all my uniforms and chucked all my awards into the river. If you ever decide to join the Coast Guard, be sure to put lots of Vasoline on your ass.

These guys supposedly see the most action. I say it's the Navy, but no one wants to talk about that kind of action.

Check out our website at http://www.prepare4coastguardbootcamp.com

23 Years and counting. If you didn't enjoy your time with the CG, then it is your fault. Life is what YOU make of it. You should have taken control of your career and made it what you wanted it to be. If you didn't it is your loss, not the Coast Guards.

Seriously some of you pansies got what you deserved. I've been in the Coast guard for about four years now and I've seen the weak and ill minded come and go. Dont get me wrong Im not brainwashed or "hard for the guard" but some of these people are seriously weak if they cant make it here. First of all boot camp is tough, not so much physically, but mentally. I saw multiple people get kicked out in boot camp because they "went crazy." Ya most of these people weren't really crazy they just cried from bieng yelled at and couldnt take it. As for those complaining that they got shit jobs out of boot camp....wow you dont say! Your a NON Rate, your going to do crap jobs such as; sweep, clean bathrooms and paint pointless things. The point of this is to give you incentive to go to A school and advance as quickly as possible. Once you make rate you will no longer have crap jobs. The Coast Guard isnt perfect and has its problems as does any job/orginization but is much better than most. Ive know... Read more

I came from another sevice prior to joining the CG. Leadership in the CG is non-existant. It comes to a matter of moving the senior leadership up and as some have put on previous posts a "good old boy" network. I was part of the Katrina efforts from the beginning, the press and the idiots in Washington put the CG on a high plateau that made us look like the saviors of the whole operation. The danger with that is if there is another storm or disaster like Katrina and things are not running as smooth as they sort of did, the CG will look like a bunch of idiots (and the CG is heading down that road currently). I can speak about academy grads since I work with these idiots. They are nothing but a bunch of pompass assholes. I can only name 2 academy grads I can stomach, but only for a short period of time. They can not lead their way out of a wet paper bag and will dime anyone out, including their mom, if it meant a better OER. They think they are gods at times and believe they know... Read more

I have been in the Coast Guard for almost a year now. It's just like every other service that has its days. And Boot camp was hard even though I did 4 years of ROTC on top of that having a Marine officer as my dad. So I got my ass beat alot and it was nothing compared to boot camp. It is the hardest mentally and pretty hard physically. I put on my "dream sheet" that I wanted to go to Alaska on a 378 called the Munro. And the people on there were very nice to me by showing me where to go and getting qualified so I have no idea what people are talking about it being a shady service. For all the people who are writing on here and aren't even in the military, go fuck yourself. I was on patrol in the Bering Sea and I saw things out there that I didnt think was possible such as 40 foot seas and 140 knot winds. It's really hell out there and we aren't given the respect that we deserve. Yes this service has a lot of shitbags in it but isn't that with everything in this world? In Kodiak, Ak peo... Read more

My Parents are in the USCG and i am proud to support it, yea you may get crappy Drill SGT. and you may have to do crappy work at first, but from my point of view, you can travel all over the U.S. Just because you dn't like what you do doesn't mean you have to talk bad about them. If the CG wasn't here, then what?????? That's just my opinion and i'm not saying you have to like the CG, i'm just saying that without the CG, people would be dying from shipwrecks and marine life would be almost dead from oil spills. Just shows how important they are.

ahhh... the Coast Guard. What can I say about the Coast Guard? Reading all of these reviews sound all too familiar. My recruiter was not of great help. He said he couldn't guarantee me any "A" schools or hometown recruiting... a bunch of bull because AS SOON AS I WENT TO MEPS I met with the entire group that he recruited- many had guaranteed "A" schools, bonuses, and hometown recruiting. I felt like I got the shaft... too late, already swore in. Oh!! and I had to challenge him on getting a bonus... i told him i wouldn't join without it and he was like, "Oh, maybe I will ask then." Duh! SO basic training... it was the worst and best time of my life. I had fun and i'll admit, I came out of there next to my peers feeling swollen in the chest with pride. A bunch of people will know who your company commanders are and the funny thing is is most of these CC's that "So rightly" have medals and ribbons on their chest have NEVER even step foot on a boat let alone have sea time... they don't kn... Read more

It was overwhelming to read these, they ring SO familiar in my mind - the pure shittiness of the Coast Guard. Towards the end of basic training I was ready to get out there and prove myself. On my "dream sheet" I made it clear I wanted a small boat station or 110 in a warm area. I ended up getting orders for a 378' in Charleston, SC. They have you call your new unit to see what it's like - and I shit you not, the people were like "uhhh...did anyone tell you? There's really nothing here." After that I didn't give a damn. I got to my unit - it was an abandoned Navy base in the middle of nowhere. We had no living quarters. Turns out everyone on the boat is from the area. When we get back from a 3-month tour I was stuck sleeping in that stupid bunk bed. Saddest times of my life. Mess cooking sucks too. Work from 6:30am until 7pm 7 days a week, taking orders from some disgusting loser. That's another thing - you'll find the biggest rejects and scum in the Coast Guard. One of the cooks on t... Read more

personally didn't enjoy my time in the coast guard. most of my co-workers did however seem to be happy in the guard. i never really felt like i fit in. the coast guard is very "law enforcementish". it was kind of like working with a bunch of cops, not that there is anything wrong with cops, just not my scene. i experienced a lot of "tough guys" who i think secretly wished they would have joined the marines but really didn't have to balls to do so. there are many exciting jobs and stations in the coast guard and with hard work and discipline you can have an awesome career. be ready to do the "crap" work for your first couple years. that's just how it is, regardless of which service you choose.

To be honest I don't know much about the Coast Guard, but I do know they do a hell of a lot for both the military and civilians.

Coasties are nuts. I would surely not get in one of those boats unless my life depended on it.

Well, they certainly had the best armed ships of any nations coast guard that I ever saw. Harpoons? On a Cutter? Nice to have, but what for?

Ballsy guys, especially the ones doing the search and rescue work.

The Coast Guard boot camp is a joke, well I had 2 years of ROTC in college and 2 years of Citizens Army Training in high school that's why. But even after that, the military structure with the boy scouts/girls scouts are probably better and the chain of command is horrible. The Coast Guard sucks, I should have joined the Marines or even the Navy and have some respect. Screw this I am getting out next year! Wohooo!

Vastly under-rated and important service particularily in the age of terrorism

Great group who risk their lives to go into the water after people. Very tough work and very risky.

ha ha ha ha ha

The Coast Guard may not be in the Department of Defense, but that does not mean it is not a military service. Thay have fought in all our wars, including the current war in Iraq and have shed blood and died like other servicemen. Their boot camp is very difficult and is probably second only to the U.S. Marines. Unlike the other branches of the service the Coast Guard has very little down time. They are indeed the police of the oceans, they contend with drug smugglers, illegal immigrants and general crime. They save lives in the harshest weather conditions when nobody else has the the training or abilty to survive, much less save someone, always at the risk of their own lives. During times of war these fine men and women answer the call of duty like every other member of the armed forces. This outfit should be the one to be called , the few, the proud. They deserve it. My son is a member of the Coast Guard and is on the other side of the world as I write, not safe at home going up and d... Read more

Anyone whose job it is, among other things, to go out and rescue people who may not have enough sense to stay out of bad weather, deserves acollades. The pay is not that great (certainly nt commensurate with the risks), and recognition for what they do probably isn't what it should be either.

Oldest life saving service in world.

I think anyone who takes the time out of their lives, especially the time they could be spending with family to protect our country is a hero to me. I am tired of hearing how one branch is better than the other. None of you people are better than anyone else. Get a grip !

The Coast Guard is more important than most people think. The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is the hardest college/university/academy to get into in the nation. Isn't this enough to prove the Coast Guard is legit? To most of you, it isn't and I'm not surprised.

No you don't have to be six feet tall and it is still part of the Military, you two IDIOTS.

Not even a branch of military. Now department of Transportation