Posted on Jul 15, 2014
Coast Guard Selected Reserve Direct Commission Program
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Does anyone have inside information on this program? I've been thinking about my future lately, and the thought of doing nothing but law depresses me. I was thinking reserve duty would be a nice way to shake things up, but I want to do it as an officer.
I looked at the Navy, but they are rather job specific in their openings. And, I am not terribly interested in the Army or Air Force (no offense, boys and girls). I saw the Coast Guard's SRDC program and it looks promising.
I would appreciate any info. Thanks!
I looked at the Navy, but they are rather job specific in their openings. And, I am not terribly interested in the Army or Air Force (no offense, boys and girls). I saw the Coast Guard's SRDC program and it looks promising.
I would appreciate any info. Thanks!
Posted in these groups: 
Reserves
Reserves
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 3
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I'm just now seeing this so sorry for very late response.
The biggest portion for this is your board interview. It's your total packet overall but a huge, huge influence comes from your board interview. We do accept non-Coast Guardsman (look at me using the term properly!) as long as you have prior military which you do.
To start you'll need to meet with a recruiter. Most of the process is on you and that's on purpose. How bad do you want it? You need to work hard on your essay and what you're bringing to the table. How good were your grades? Do you have a graduate degree? Volunteer work? It's all evaluated.
The slots are very, very limited. We might only commission 50 new reserve Ensigns a year but thousands apply. In my class only 4 of us had only applied once. I was one of the four. Of the total 29 of us, only 5 didn't have graduate degrees (again that was me). So what else are you doing? I had very good grades in college, a solid law enforcement background and a very good board interview recommendation.
If you want it, go for it and keep at it. Don't get discouraged if you get denied the first time. Keep re-applying.
Good luck!
The biggest portion for this is your board interview. It's your total packet overall but a huge, huge influence comes from your board interview. We do accept non-Coast Guardsman (look at me using the term properly!) as long as you have prior military which you do.
To start you'll need to meet with a recruiter. Most of the process is on you and that's on purpose. How bad do you want it? You need to work hard on your essay and what you're bringing to the table. How good were your grades? Do you have a graduate degree? Volunteer work? It's all evaluated.
The slots are very, very limited. We might only commission 50 new reserve Ensigns a year but thousands apply. In my class only 4 of us had only applied once. I was one of the four. Of the total 29 of us, only 5 didn't have graduate degrees (again that was me). So what else are you doing? I had very good grades in college, a solid law enforcement background and a very good board interview recommendation.
If you want it, go for it and keep at it. Don't get discouraged if you get denied the first time. Keep re-applying.
Good luck!
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PO2 Christopher Morehouse
Thank you for the response. It turns out that the eczema I developed since leaving the service is a disqualifying condition, so I never followed through with it. From what I understand, applicants requiring waivers (assuming I even manage to snag one) are last resort, so I wouldn't be very competitive as I have another issue that I won't get into on here. Safe to say, it would be a vertical climb that I'm not prepared to take right now.
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PO3 (Join to see)
LT how many times a year can you apply? You said you only applied once, did you only apply for one program or multiple?
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MAJ (Join to see)
I applied for the SRDC program. That's the only true reserve program. There are a number of programs on the active side (they will say reserve commission but that's active duty service, please don't confuse the two, that would be a huge error).
For SRDC, it's only once a year but one or two classes depending on our needs.
The other programs may be once or twice a year but that's probably it. Being a small service, our need isn't as high and a majority of our new Ensigns will come from our Academy. That said, we still need more than the Academy can provide but not at the levels of the other services.
Here is a list of our officer programs:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities/programs
For SRDC, it's only once a year but one or two classes depending on our needs.
The other programs may be once or twice a year but that's probably it. Being a small service, our need isn't as high and a majority of our new Ensigns will come from our Academy. That said, we still need more than the Academy can provide but not at the levels of the other services.
Here is a list of our officer programs:
http://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities/programs
We have several Officer Programs available including the CSPI, OCS, DCO, SRDC and CGA.
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SPC (Join to see)
Excellent info sir. I'm looking to commission in either the USNR or USCGR after my contract ends. What is your training like once accepted to the program? Does civilian law enforcement experience help your application greatly?
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PO2 Christopher Morehouse
Been there, done that, got the t-shirt. No really, it is because I do not qualify for their program; have to be under 30.
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