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I am currently weighing some options on joining the coast guard reserves. I am a federally employed worker but there is still a sense of duty missing. I have recently obtained my bachelors degree and can go direct commission. The main concerns that I have are being deployed again. I deployed to OEF3 and 6 for almost 2 years. What does everyone think? Should I try to balance 2 careers or be greatful for the one I have now.
Deployment
Transition
Reserves
Coast Guard Reserve
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 13
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It'a all about what you want to do with your life and what your plans are. What do you expect to get out of the reserves and what are the benifits. Good luck!
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The coasties dona great job. I applaud you for considering country over self!
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There is always a chance of being deployed when you are in the reserve, but there are certain specialties where people are deployed more often and those where people never get deployed. If you get assigned to a PSU (and that is quite likely given your qualifications) you would likely have to deploy at some point. The Coast Guard activated over 100% of its reservists (How do you do that?!) in the past decade, though. Most of that was through repeat deployments for Hurricane Katrina and Deep Water Horizon. Many people were deployed mutiple times and a lot of people volunteered for multiple deployments. I think I understand your trepidation, but deploying in the Coast Guard is a vastly different thing than deploying to a combat situation. Coast Guard reservists stand in line to get a chance to deploy. There are always a few that don't want to go or the timing isn't right, but for the most part, you almost have to push your way to the front of the line to get a chance to go. The exception would be PSU's, but they deploy on a somewhat regular basis.
My advice would be to enlist and see how you like it before applying for a commission. Newly commissioned officers (especially former Army) would likely have a greater chance of being assigned to a PSU. If you enlist, your rating will likely have a lot to do with whether or not you have or get to deploy. If you are thinking about a particular rating, let me know. I would be glad to give you feedback and an honest assessment of it.
My advice would be to enlist and see how you like it before applying for a commission. Newly commissioned officers (especially former Army) would likely have a greater chance of being assigned to a PSU. If you enlist, your rating will likely have a lot to do with whether or not you have or get to deploy. If you are thinking about a particular rating, let me know. I would be glad to give you feedback and an honest assessment of it.
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SCPO Carl Wayne Boss
I can help you with that too, and Chief Campbell is quite right, Going to OCS and becoming a paper pushin' desk jocky (Officer's I worked with, characterization of themselves, not mine) may not be as fulfilling as being a "working" Enlisted Man.
I spent the last of my 37 years of service, in Recruiting and the evaluation of those who wanted to apply for OCS. The Officers I worked for and with, on one hand offered me the opportunity on a number of different occasions, but on the other hand, also warned me that I would not have the freedom of function, thought and action that I did as a Senior Non-Com. So for those reasons I chose to remain on the "Enlisted" side of the house.
Prior to that I was XPOIC, Admin Officer and Team Leader of a Reserve manned U.S. Coast Guard Small Boat Unit called the "U.S. Coast Guard Colorado River Patrol" on Arizona's West Coast, as a Coast Guard Reserve Senior Enlisted Man.
Many of my crew came to me and asked for letters of recommendation for OCS, which I provided to a dozen or more of 'em, along with the admonishment that there may come a day when they regretted the decision... to date virtually all of them have admitted that they regretted the decision to go to OCS... that being an Officer wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Especially when and if you for some "obscure" reason you get passed over for promotion too many times... because some "evaluation board" doesn't cotton to yer way of being an "Officer" and they toss yer butt out!
I spent the last of my 37 years of service, in Recruiting and the evaluation of those who wanted to apply for OCS. The Officers I worked for and with, on one hand offered me the opportunity on a number of different occasions, but on the other hand, also warned me that I would not have the freedom of function, thought and action that I did as a Senior Non-Com. So for those reasons I chose to remain on the "Enlisted" side of the house.
Prior to that I was XPOIC, Admin Officer and Team Leader of a Reserve manned U.S. Coast Guard Small Boat Unit called the "U.S. Coast Guard Colorado River Patrol" on Arizona's West Coast, as a Coast Guard Reserve Senior Enlisted Man.
Many of my crew came to me and asked for letters of recommendation for OCS, which I provided to a dozen or more of 'em, along with the admonishment that there may come a day when they regretted the decision... to date virtually all of them have admitted that they regretted the decision to go to OCS... that being an Officer wasn't all it was cracked up to be.
Especially when and if you for some "obscure" reason you get passed over for promotion too many times... because some "evaluation board" doesn't cotton to yer way of being an "Officer" and they toss yer butt out!
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SGT Robert Zuniga, I know plenty of DA civilians that work up here at TACOM that are also in the reserves and when they put in their reserve uniform, they come right in the office and perform the same duties. This maybe a unique situation, but they all seem to like the process and the dual jobs.
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CPO Jon Campbell
The Coast Guard prohibits their civilian employees from doing the same job in the reserve. It used to be quite common though.
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The thing to look into would be whether the Coast Guard Reserves deploys regularly. I don't believe they do/at all.
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CPO Jon Campbell
Coast Guard reservists typically don't deploy as units. They are deployed individually or in small ad hoc teams. If there is money to pay reservists, there is always work to do. Usually, you don't have to worry about being involuntarily activated because reservists scrap over the jobs when they open up. The CG reserve is not a stand alone service anymore. It was integrated with active duty in the late 1990's and now it functions more like a pool of temp workers who fill in for active duty or do oddball special assignments that would strain active duty resources.
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PO1 (Join to see)
I've deployed both the Gulf of Mexico and to Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf in my almost 8 years in the USCGR... as several of the CPO's have said it is what you make of it. Overall it's been a great experience though. Good luck!
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I worked two Careers simultaneously from the time I was discharged from active duty in 1976 after Vietnam... One in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve as a XOIC, Admin Officer and Team Leader of a 35 person team of a small 130 person Small Boat Unit on Arizona's "West Coast", called the "U.S. Coast Guard Colorado River Patrol" doing, Law Enforcement, Firefighting, Medical Emergency response and Boating Safety.
My Civilian employ was as a Firefighter/EMT Fire Inspector & Investigator for several different private, military & municipal Fire Departments. For a time I was a Fire Inspector II for the City of Phoenix Fire Dept. Division of Fire Prevention's New Construction Section and often ran large construction projects over a cell phone and computer from the deck or bridge of a Coast Guard Cutter.
If being deployed worries you then, you may not want to make the commitment, because that possibility always exists... that after all is what the Reserves are for... a ready source of trained manpower that can be called on when the need arises... even in the Coast Guard! Personally... I never regretted making that commitment for 1 second.
I was finally forced to retire from the Coast Guard with over 30 years of Service in 2006, I retired from Phoenix Fire with 28 years of Service, but I still volunteer as the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention and Fire Marshal of a small Private Fire Department in Rural Arizona and don't plan to quit until I've completed 50 years in the Fire Service... I've got 4 years to go!
I said all that... to say this... IT CAN BE DONE MR... GO FOR IT! And give both jobs all you've got... just make sure your Bride's on board Mr. or it could become difficult... "Capiche?" That's Italian for "Understand?" "Comprende?" That's Mexican for the same thing!
My Civilian employ was as a Firefighter/EMT Fire Inspector & Investigator for several different private, military & municipal Fire Departments. For a time I was a Fire Inspector II for the City of Phoenix Fire Dept. Division of Fire Prevention's New Construction Section and often ran large construction projects over a cell phone and computer from the deck or bridge of a Coast Guard Cutter.
If being deployed worries you then, you may not want to make the commitment, because that possibility always exists... that after all is what the Reserves are for... a ready source of trained manpower that can be called on when the need arises... even in the Coast Guard! Personally... I never regretted making that commitment for 1 second.
I was finally forced to retire from the Coast Guard with over 30 years of Service in 2006, I retired from Phoenix Fire with 28 years of Service, but I still volunteer as the Deputy Chief of Fire Prevention and Fire Marshal of a small Private Fire Department in Rural Arizona and don't plan to quit until I've completed 50 years in the Fire Service... I've got 4 years to go!
I said all that... to say this... IT CAN BE DONE MR... GO FOR IT! And give both jobs all you've got... just make sure your Bride's on board Mr. or it could become difficult... "Capiche?" That's Italian for "Understand?" "Comprende?" That's Mexican for the same thing!
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I'm a police officer and CG reservist... Send me a message and I can probably help you out
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I am finding my self with the same delema. Especially with the fact that i own my own business. Never thought id find another thread on here with the same similiar delema. My biggest fear is getting in over my head and having to give up on my full time job. Im not afraid to work hard or grind for it. Id suggest researching the shit outta it. I am looking into USMC so it is a little different from coast guard. Talk to people. Talk to a recruiter. Although i havent made a decison yet or have ever been threw the process. I know how hard it can be to make a big move without burning yourself. And someone to relate to. What I found helpful was do a pro and con chart. If your like me and really need to see things for them to make sense to you it really helps. Take it with a grain of salt. I am by no means an expert. Just my two cents and kinda what i have gone threw to far and found helpful. Also venting on here and getting peoples options and ideas really helps to. Best of luck to you on your journey.
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A few thoughts coming from experience as an Army Civilian:
1. Balancing isn't really a big deal. You will get military leave equal to 160 hours per year for weekend drills and your two-weeks of full-time duty each year. If you are deployed on orders, you will get those same 160 hours as paid leave while you're deployed and maybe more (find an expert in this for the latest numbers). Your supervisor will have been instructed on how to handle employees who are RC members and few will complain and none will discriminate against you.
2. The RC members who worked with me provided very valuable contemporary insights into what was going on in the Active Duty and Reserve Army. This helped us in planning for and responding to the needs of those service members.
3. Do get a commission. Better pay, better jobs, more retirement.
4. If possible, get a reserve position closely related to your civilian job. One training course can count twice when it can be applied to both military and civilian jobs. Also you'll find that some military training, such a Army Command and Staff, can be used in place of civilian leadership training courses. (I received credit for all civilian leadership training except Army Civilian Basic Course because I had completed all the Air Force Officer professional education through Air War College.)
1. Balancing isn't really a big deal. You will get military leave equal to 160 hours per year for weekend drills and your two-weeks of full-time duty each year. If you are deployed on orders, you will get those same 160 hours as paid leave while you're deployed and maybe more (find an expert in this for the latest numbers). Your supervisor will have been instructed on how to handle employees who are RC members and few will complain and none will discriminate against you.
2. The RC members who worked with me provided very valuable contemporary insights into what was going on in the Active Duty and Reserve Army. This helped us in planning for and responding to the needs of those service members.
3. Do get a commission. Better pay, better jobs, more retirement.
4. If possible, get a reserve position closely related to your civilian job. One training course can count twice when it can be applied to both military and civilian jobs. Also you'll find that some military training, such a Army Command and Staff, can be used in place of civilian leadership training courses. (I received credit for all civilian leadership training except Army Civilian Basic Course because I had completed all the Air Force Officer professional education through Air War College.)
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