I have appointments to both service academies. I've just spent 2 years at a prep school and now i'm torn between the two. I've always wanted to go Navy or Marine Corps but I'm 100% open to Coast Guard at this point also. I also want to fly.
1.)That being ssid does anyone know the possibilities of cross commissioning Navy out of CGA & if possible can a flight school slot be obtained cross commissioning?
2.) Does anyone know the number of flight school slots per class for both of these academies?
3.) If you have any other advice toward making this decision I would love the potential help in this choice I have to make!
Thank you!
1. Capt MJ is correct. The USCG does not allow you to apply for cross-commissioning until after your initial 5 year commitment has been served.
2. I can't give you the exact number but, on average, roughly 10% of each class goes to flight school immediately upon graduation. However, if you are not offered a spot for flight school immediately, nearly all of my classmates who wanted flight school have entered/are in the process/have completed flight school roughly 3.5 years after graduation. It is a common saying that you'll get flight school if you want it. You just have to perform well wherever you're sent as you'll need a Command Endorsement.
3. Hopefully the USMMA grads chime in here but do remember the focus of USMMA is to develop merchant mariners, who serve in the Navy Reserve. Yes, it is possible an doable to commission into every service following USMMA but I would argue that's not the focus of USMMA. I could be wrong and will admit to being so if corrected by another poster on here. USCGA has expanded their aviation programs over the last few years. There are plenty of aviators serving tours at USCGA, the Alumni Association recently funded a newly installed flight simulator, and the Aviation Club is one of the most popular on campus. Additionally, USCGA does offer ground school courses in preparation for your private pilot's license and there are opportunities to get up in the air in CG aircraft.
All this to say, I agree with CAPT MJ. You need to evaluate the services themselves, not the schools. The USCG mission is vastly different from our DoD brethren and is predominantly humanitarian. If you don't get flight school, you will be assigned to a CG cutter that could go everywhere from only a couple of hundred miles offshore the US to Central/South America, Antarctica, the Arctic Circle, Africa and anywhere in between. You'll be engaging in counterdrug, alien migration interdiction, living marine resources, and a few other missions not even remotely similar to what the DoD does. If you truly want the Navy, I would talk to some of the USMMA posters on here and follow through with USMMA - with the understanding you'll be very ship focused while attending USMMA.
