USCG at SMC's Please help!!!

Usnavy2019

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Does anyone have any info on USCG commissioning opportunites at the SMC's, specifically at VMI or The Citadel? I know that they commission through the Select School Direct Commissioning Program, but what does that entail? Do you graduate as a USCG Ensign or do you commission after you graduate? Do you start working towards a commission while you are at school? Please help!!!
 
I think VMI and The Citadel are the only SMCs that offer a Coast Guard option from their NROTC programs. Since its part of NROTC, I figure you'd be an ensign when you graduate like everyone else.

Try emailing their commanders to know for certain.
 
I think VMI and The Citadel are the only SMCs that offer a Coast Guard option from their NROTC programs. Since its part of NROTC, I figure you'd be an ensign when you graduate like everyone else.

Try emailing their commanders to know for certain.
That's not right. The CG DCSS (direct commission selected school) program is not an NROTC program and it's not restricted to VMI & The Citadel- pretty much all of the other SMCs are offered this as well-(http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-yo...ties/programs/direct-commission-programs#dcss) It however is not a slam dunk program at all where you apply and get selected more or less automatically because you are a VMI or Citadel grad with 4 years of ROTC . You need to apply and will be board selected by a USCG board - I believe that one VMI grad from 2013 was accepted this year- he wasn't commissioned on graduation day and I believe that they actually get commissioned when he report to New London for what is basically a 4 week overview of the CG course.
 
Does anyone have any info on USCG commissioning opportunites at the SMC's, specifically at VMI or The Citadel? I know that they commission through the Select School Direct Commissioning Program, but what does that entail? Do you graduate as a USCG Ensign or do you commission after you graduate? Do you start working towards a commission while you are at school? Please help!!!

Go to http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-yo...ties/programs/direct-commission-programs#dcss for more information. Here's the skinny as I see it:

While you are enrolled in ROTC (service is irrelevant), you apply to the DCSS program. A board will meet and make selections based upon the criteria. The 8 schools listed ( The Citadel,Mary Baldwin College, Virginia Women's Institute for Leadership,North Georgia College & State University,Norwich University, Prairie View A&M University, Texas A&M University, Virginia Military Institute,Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) have established ROTC and academic programs that CG feels qualify for commissions. The program is not limited to those schools, but students from other schools need to show that those schools and ROTC programs have sufficient rigor.

If selected, upon graduation the student will be commissioned as an Ensign (O-1) in the Coast Guard and sent to direct commission officer school for training specific to the Coast Guard.

Another thing I noticed is there is no requirement to be enrolled. That means that if you are a graduate of these particular programs, you can apply to DCSS and gain your commission. Otherwise you'll have to apply and attend Officer Candidate School and get your commission upon completing that program.

Again, check the link above, and contact an officer programs recruiter in your area. Good luck.
 
I believe that one VMI grad from 2013 was accepted this year- he wasn't commissioned on graduation day and I believe that they actually get commissioned when he report to New London for what is basically a 4 week overview of the CG course.

Do you know how many applied?

They didn't have this when I was there. I might seriously have considered it if they did.
 
Don't know the numbers, but according to a recruiting friend, it's very tight these days.
 
The Citadel has a Coast Guard Auxiliary program that's basically an after-school club that can be described as like a mini CG-ROTC.....members receive and wear uniforms and everything, a friend of mine is in it and really enjoys it.
 
I know that The Citadel has sent quite a few officers into the Coast Guard through OCS but the Direct Commission program sure saves a lot of time and effort. Needless to say being in Navy ROTC is the best way to go for those looking at the direct commission program because you will be learning the things you need to know in the USCG such as navigation, law of the sea, etc.
 
Is there anyone on the forum that is currently involved with this program at any SMC? If there is, would you be willing to talk?
 
Does anyone have any info on USCG commissioning opportunites at the SMC's, specifically at VMI or The Citadel? I know that they commission through the Select School Direct Commissioning Program, but what does that entail? Do you graduate as a USCG Ensign or do you commission after you graduate? Do you start working towards a commission while you are at school? Please help!!!
This program seems to be quite a mystery. My son was denied commission at the Academy and is now at Va. Tech, hoping to get a commission through this program. The little I seem to have learned about this (his Coast Guard recruiter didn't even know about it) is that The Coast Guard occasionally looks for students with specific majors not available at the academy, and that's the main reason for DCSS. The academy only has a limited amount of majors, so they can be looking to fill a spot that they have a need for. Probably just a handful of students a year get commissions this way. Of course, it certainly helps (a lot) if you are female or a minority.
 
Does anyone have any info on USCG commissioning opportunites at the SMC's, specifically at VMI or The Citadel? I know that they commission through the Select School Direct Commissioning Program, but what does that entail? Do you graduate as a USCG Ensign or do you commission after you graduate? Do you start working towards a commission while you are at school? Please help!!!

Some good comments here - what is apparent is graduating from an SMC will help in selection, but more than likely unless you qualify for a Direct Commission, you still need to first be selected and then go to OCS once selected. To be clear about The Citadel's Auxillary detachment, while the college classifies it as a "club," it is officially a part of The Charleston Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 12-8 with its own designation as part of the Cost Guard's University Program -
The Citadel detachment was one of the first college programs to be established. Participating Cadets join the Coast Guard Auxilary. Participation in the University Program affords students unique opportunities to gain extensive experience with Coast Guard units. Being in Charleston which has a major Coast Guard base, is quite an advantage for Cadets who participate in the college detachment.

Here is The Citadel detachment's website: http://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=070-12-08&category=citadel-detachment
On the website it says this:
  • We are a group of cadets interested in furthering our cadet career by being involved with the operational side of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
  • Upon graduation, we are interested in attending Coast Guard officer candidate school, direct commission, active duty enlistment, reserve enlistment or continuing with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
  • We were officially established with the Coast Guard Auxiliary on campus in the spring of 2008.



About the US Coast Guard Auxiliary
When you join the Coast Guard Auxiliary, you could find yourself saving lives, protecting the environment from polluters, guarding our shores from terrorists, and much more. That is our job 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. That's life in the Coast Guard Auxiliary. We do much more than just train. We train and perform. Since 1939 the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary has safeguarded our Nation’s maritime interests in the heartland, in the ports, at sea, and around the globe.

bottom line, attending an SMC or one of the Maritime colleges does give you a leg up in the Direct Commission program - assuming you fit within one of the Coast Guard's critical skill needs. These are posted on the Coast Guard Web site.
 
This program seems to be quite a mystery. My son was denied commission at the Academy and is now at Va. Tech, hoping to get a commission through this program. The little I seem to have learned about this (his Coast Guard recruiter didn't even know about it) is that The Coast Guard occasionally looks for students with specific majors not available at the academy, and that's the main reason for DCSS. The academy only has a limited amount of majors, so they can be looking to fill a spot that they have a need for. Probably just a handful of students a year get commissions this way. Of course, it certainly helps (a lot) if you are female or a minority.

I recommend looking at the current Officer Job Application Kit here: https://www.gocoastguard.com/sites/default/files/uploads/o-jak_26april2014_1_0.pdf
Very few people apply and are selected as seen on page 72 but it appears to have a higher selection rate than other programs. I have had a change to speak to a representative for the DCSS program (LT. Ashly Thomas) and if you'd like her contact information I would be more than willing to pass that along via a PM.
 
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