A few questions

[pjva04]

I was in the Marine Corps for six years (got out in 96) and am interested in the Coast Guard (mostly for the law enforcement opportunities). I casually, almost jokingly, mentioned to my wife I wondered if I should go back to the military. She said if there wasn't a war going on, she would consider it (I didn't meet her until I was out of the Marines). My question is, what is the life like for the typical Coast Guard Enlisted Man? Is there a chance a 35 year old guy in decent shape can make a second career out of it? What are the chances of being deployed, and for that matter what is the frequency of duty station changes? Anyone who knows any answers from first hand knowledge, please sound off.

BTW, do I have to go to basic training again? :dunno:

MODERATORS, please cross post this in Veterans forum if you think it will help.

[AS45-70]

For active duty

I would think you would have to get duty on any of the larger white hulls... 82', 110' or even 378' to do Law Enforcement type work. I dont think the CG has an active duty police force other than Coast Guard Intellegence and i think its now called CGIS. Its very small, maybe 400 agents and support staff. There may be something there for you, i am not sure, i have been out for 15 yrs.

But for the most part LE is just a portion of what the CG does, if your thinking to join and only do LE work as active duty enlisted, thats not really gonna be the case.


For Reserve duty

If recall the only specific law enforcement job in the CG is Port Security, which i am pretty sure is a Reserve position only( may have changed tho i have been out for 15 yrs). Sounds kinda boring but i never really looked into it.

I really dont know about the boot camp thing for sure, you are prior service so that may have some weight. The part of CG boot camp your not gonna be familiar with is the seamanship and CG Rates and ranks. Close order drill, Uniforms, Fitness, manual of arms, general orders, ect are all things you got in boot camp for the Marines. Probably best to ask a recruiter on that one if your serious about joining.

After i got out and started doing my reserve duty i noticed that we had a lot of Customs agents that were reservists. if your looking for LE work, Customs may be a good option for you also.

[KLR650]

USCG Prior Service (http://gocoastguard.com/find-your-fit/enlisted-opportunities/prior-service-process)

im not in the CG per say, but my wife is :supergrin: Shes on a CPB (coastal patrol boat) running MLE, SAR, and HLS missions. They mostly do random boardings of fishing boats (HLS) or scheduled boardings on tankers (MLE).

anyway, the link above is the basic requirements for re-enlisting. Basic will only be 4wks long for you.

small boat stations do alot of the MLE stuff. you could get stationed in miami and be part of the interdiction team, thats almost daily over there.

[Coastietech]

Check your PM's

[pjva04]

Check your PM's

Will do.