Posted on Aug 13, 2017
I am looking into transferring into active duty Coast Guard from the ARNG. Should I stick to my current mos type or do something new?
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I am currently a 15U CH47 repair with the ARNG. I'm considering going active duty coast guard and was looking into Gunners Mate. My buddy said I should stick to being an Aviation Mech since I'm pretty good at it. If I had a good chance at flying again I might do it, but I would like some advice from some current coast guard guys about the two rates.
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Posted >1 y ago
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Okay, I'll be the one.
A "Rate" is the same thing as "Rank" in the Army. Coastie enlisted members don't have rank - we have rate... only our officers have rank. A career field (MOS) is a "Rating." AET (Avionics Electrician's Technician) is a rating. PO3 (Petty Officer Third Class) is a rate. When I came over from the Army, it was confusing all to hell, especially when Coasties use the wrong terminology.
Also, Enlistees are "Advanced" in rate, we aren't "promoted" (again, only officers get promoted).
Your rating depends all on you. Can you imagine yourself in 15 years, nearing retirement age, cleaning weapons and/or running range qualifications with almost no budget and 10 sub-units screaming at you that they all need to get qualified? Can you imagine working on airframes and being part of the air crew? Which appeals to you more?
Keep in mind that as you advance in rate, your hands-on time gets cut more and more, and if/when you make Chief (E-7), you are damned near a paper-pushing, desk-riding, manager... and that happens no matter what rating you choose.
To start with, live as a non-rate, E-2/3, can suck, and you have almost no say in where you get stationed. Once you are advanced to E-3, you can put your name on any A-school waiting list for career field training for which you are qualified. You might wanna grow up to be a Gunner's Mate right now, but once you are in, you may fall in love with the Yeomen, or spark-chasers, or any of the other ratings we have (we only have about 20!!). When you go to A-School, you'll be ranked according to how "rough" your last billet was, folks on cutters getting higher priority than sand-peeps, and then you get a list of available billets for PO3s in your rating... the people with the highest priority get the first picks, the folks on the bottom getting last choice. You may wanna stay on the Left Coast, and end up in Maine... or Guam... or Miami.
After that, things work GREAT for assignments - it's just when you are at the bottom of the totem pole is when it sucks - and for a new family, it can be rough. We're also quite isolated, so there aren't the big support networks that the Army has.
There are loads of differences. Holler if you want me to continue. Good luck!!
A "Rate" is the same thing as "Rank" in the Army. Coastie enlisted members don't have rank - we have rate... only our officers have rank. A career field (MOS) is a "Rating." AET (Avionics Electrician's Technician) is a rating. PO3 (Petty Officer Third Class) is a rate. When I came over from the Army, it was confusing all to hell, especially when Coasties use the wrong terminology.
Also, Enlistees are "Advanced" in rate, we aren't "promoted" (again, only officers get promoted).
Your rating depends all on you. Can you imagine yourself in 15 years, nearing retirement age, cleaning weapons and/or running range qualifications with almost no budget and 10 sub-units screaming at you that they all need to get qualified? Can you imagine working on airframes and being part of the air crew? Which appeals to you more?
Keep in mind that as you advance in rate, your hands-on time gets cut more and more, and if/when you make Chief (E-7), you are damned near a paper-pushing, desk-riding, manager... and that happens no matter what rating you choose.
To start with, live as a non-rate, E-2/3, can suck, and you have almost no say in where you get stationed. Once you are advanced to E-3, you can put your name on any A-school waiting list for career field training for which you are qualified. You might wanna grow up to be a Gunner's Mate right now, but once you are in, you may fall in love with the Yeomen, or spark-chasers, or any of the other ratings we have (we only have about 20!!). When you go to A-School, you'll be ranked according to how "rough" your last billet was, folks on cutters getting higher priority than sand-peeps, and then you get a list of available billets for PO3s in your rating... the people with the highest priority get the first picks, the folks on the bottom getting last choice. You may wanna stay on the Left Coast, and end up in Maine... or Guam... or Miami.
After that, things work GREAT for assignments - it's just when you are at the bottom of the totem pole is when it sucks - and for a new family, it can be rough. We're also quite isolated, so there aren't the big support networks that the Army has.
There are loads of differences. Holler if you want me to continue. Good luck!!
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MCPO (Join to see)
Jerald...I almost beat you to this. One of my pet peeves. It does, however, ruin the old "choose your rate, choose your fate" saying! Choose your rating, choose your...fate-ing? No. That sucks. I'll work on it.
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MCPO (Join to see)
I know - it doesn't make sense - BUT, if you can swallow the incorrect use of the term, it's TOTALLY correct. I'm amazed at the new PO3s that start screaming, "I never knew I'd be underway as a Boatswain's Mate!" and "Damn, cooks have screwed up working hours!!" Oh, SHUT UP! You knew that before you put your name on the list! You _CHOSE_ that shit! (/rant)
Colin - in every other branch, you get to watch propaganda videos in the Recruiter's office and listen to stories from Uncle Ernie that served 30 years ago, and then you take your physical and sign up for that 'special' career field... based on hyped info and outdated memories. In the Coast Guard, 99.9% of folks come in as "non-rates" - E-2s and E-3s that don't have a specific job. Some work with the deck department and learn about what it's like to be able to see the surface of the water - the rest work with the engineering department and learn how to feel the heartbeat of our boats and cutters.
BUT - once you are in, you can hear the people that actually do those jobs - and watch them do those jobs, and you can make up your own mind about what career field is best for you. Before you EVER sign on the dotted line, you'll know which ratings for which you qualify (through your ASVAB scores). Once you make E-3, you can put your name on the list for any of those schools.
What this does is make our folks more informed before they actually get their career fields. This leads Coasties to be a HELLUVA lot happier than the folks in other branches. The last time I checked, our first term reenlistment rate was over 60%. The Air Force was next - and they were astounded that they had just gotten over 25% of first-termers staying in. This was two years ago - and our OVERALL re-up rate was over 90%, and that includes all those first-termers. The other branches can't even come CLOSE to matching that!!
Colin - in every other branch, you get to watch propaganda videos in the Recruiter's office and listen to stories from Uncle Ernie that served 30 years ago, and then you take your physical and sign up for that 'special' career field... based on hyped info and outdated memories. In the Coast Guard, 99.9% of folks come in as "non-rates" - E-2s and E-3s that don't have a specific job. Some work with the deck department and learn about what it's like to be able to see the surface of the water - the rest work with the engineering department and learn how to feel the heartbeat of our boats and cutters.
BUT - once you are in, you can hear the people that actually do those jobs - and watch them do those jobs, and you can make up your own mind about what career field is best for you. Before you EVER sign on the dotted line, you'll know which ratings for which you qualify (through your ASVAB scores). Once you make E-3, you can put your name on the list for any of those schools.
What this does is make our folks more informed before they actually get their career fields. This leads Coasties to be a HELLUVA lot happier than the folks in other branches. The last time I checked, our first term reenlistment rate was over 60%. The Air Force was next - and they were astounded that they had just gotten over 25% of first-termers staying in. This was two years ago - and our OVERALL re-up rate was over 90%, and that includes all those first-termers. The other branches can't even come CLOSE to matching that!!
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Hey Colin. I was also a 15U (actually a 67U, I was in before the mos code changed) and made the switch to the Coast Guard. I had no interest in being on a boat so I went straight to aviation. My plan was to be an AMT but the CG doesn't let you lateral over anymore so I had to go back to school. I figured I might as well do something different so I went AET instead. All the aviation jobs in the CG are also aircrew. Jobs are not airframe specific either. I started on the HU25 Falcon and stayed on it till 2014 when it was retired. I did two years on the H60 and now I'm on the C144 Casa. I can tell you active duty life in the CG aviation is much better quality than the Army. A deployment means two weeks in Puerto Rico.
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The CG is a vastly different experience, so there must be some reason you're wanting to switch. As such, why keep the same type of job? Expand your horizons I say. But, there's nothing wrong with loving your job, either. So I've been a lot of help, I know! lol. Edit: you might expand your question to Navy guys too, as the rates are nearly identical in both services.
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MCPO Roger Collins
Many of my military training wAs with Coasties, particularly crypto schools. And the good thing with the Coasties is all you need is waders in case your "boat" sinks.
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SPC Colin Jenks
I've always been interested in ships and the sea. It was family tradition to go army so I never considered anything else. I was thinking gunners mate because i love working with weapons. I like working on helicopters but I haven't found much use for helicopter mechanics in the civilian world.
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MCPO (Join to see)
SPC J, I'm a prior Army Parachute Rigger. Been in the CG for 20. Started as A BM, now an ME. HMU if you'd like. Happy to answer your questions. DEFINITELY HMU before you go GM! *awaits mustache mafia barrage...
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