USNA or USCGA?

crunncl

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Jan 15, 2019
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Hi,

I got accepted to both Navy and Coast Guard and I’m now trying to decide which is right for me. My main consideration is what life will be like in the fleet after the academy. Originally I was Navy all the way, but I’ve heard that life as a JO in the Navy is not as enjoyable as in the CG. I would most likely go SWO in the Navy and cutters in the Coast Guard. I’m just trying to get different perspectives so please let me know your experience.

Thank you!
 
Hi,

I got accepted to both Navy and Coast Guard and I’m now trying to decide which is right for me. My main consideration is what life will be like in the fleet after the academy. Originally I was Navy all the way, but I’ve heard that life as a JO in the Navy is not as enjoyable as in the CG. I would most likely go SWO in the Navy and cutters in the Coast Guard. I’m just trying to get different perspectives so please let me know your experience.

Thank you!
Congrats, great problem to have Crunncl! Good luck with your decision. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself. In the end, I don’t think you can miss, just try to make the decision that is the most true to who you are and never look back.
 
I’m now trying to decide which is right for me.

In the end, this must be your decision and your decision alone. You can certainly search the threads for advice, but which service do you think fits you best? The Navy and Coast Guard have different missions. It looks like you want to go afloat. In the Coast Guard you will have your choice of the white hull, red hull or black hull fleet.

DS is a 2018 USCGA grad and into his first billet aboard an FRC (fast response cutter) in the Caribbean. He is one of four officers aboard and has a lot of responsibility. He is quite happy that he wound up in the Coast Guard.
 
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I’m now trying to decide which is right for me.

In the end, this must be your decision and your decision alone. You can certainly search the threads for advice, but which service do you think fits you best? The Navy and Coast Guard have different missions. It looks like you want to go afloat. In the Coast Guard you will have your choice of the white hull, red hull or black hull fleet.

DS is a 2018 USCGA grad and into his first billet aboard an FRC (fast response cutter) in the Caribbean. He is one of four officers aboard and has a lot of responsibility. He is quite happy that he wound up in the Coast Guard.
Now that sounds like a cool job!
 
Congratulations @crunncl. Very tempting offer either way, Navy and the CG. It would be hard to go too forward into the future to decide which service is right for you. As a starting point, I think taking 4 years at the Academy and 5 years in service is where I would start soul searching. What missions would you like to do first 5 years. To those who are veterans please correct me if I’m wrong. My understanding of the Coast Guard’s key missions are Sea Air Border Patrol, Law Enforcement, Search and Rescue, and the Arctic Environmental Protection and Research. And yes, the Coast Guard supports combat missions when called upon. And works with other services in Joint Command missions on U.S. shores and abroad.

Navy’s primary missions are national defense, combat arms, and enforcement of national policies abroad.

My DS was in the same situation last year. He visited both Academies to participate in USNA CVW and the USCGA Academy Program. Additionally, CG went all out and invited DS for a full day of aviation missions out of their Cape Cod Joint Base. He showed up at Cape Cod Air Station and realized he was the only one invited to join a 4 men/women Crew to go on a medical and flight training missions. The Pilot was a female LT. I thought that was very cool and saw a big smile on DS face. Co-Pilot was a Canadian Pilot. Mission took him to Boston City, landed in Boston Mass General Hospital Building to deliver medical essentials, did a low fly over Cape Cod Beach front and waved back to onlooking crowd, landed on an open field for a potty stop, and performed auto pilot rotation maneuvers. It was an exciting day for DS and for mom and dad to watch part of the flight training from the ground. With all this attention, it was honestly very hard for him to choose the Navy.

Nevertheless, in the end he chose Annapolis. Because he wanted a combat experience in the Navy with an opportunity to go Aviation flying fixed wing. No guarantee there but his desire to be in a combat role with opportunities to deploy abroad was clear.

Based on the comparison, it became clear the CG will offer earlier leadership role to command a smaller boat as a skipper at the rank of LTJG with more responsibilities and duties with collaterals. I don’t think you get that in the Navy so soon. Long term, many rotary pilots from the Army, Navy, and Air Force want to Join the Coast Guard because of the lifestyle and the close family community the Coast Guard operates with less deployment time and shorter underway missions. So easier on the families.

You have a tough choice but it will be more clear if you break it down to 4 years at the Academy and 5 years in the service first. Again, congrats and pick the Academy then the service. If still cannot choose now, I believe you have the option to cross commission from Annapolis to CG but not from USCGA to the Navy. Good luck son.
 
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OP,

You're asking a good question and are absolutely right to make the choice based off of your actual active duty service rather than your four years at a SA. The SAs are all rather similar and follow a very similar construct - the only major difference between USCGA and USNA is the size. My question to you is what are you passionate about and what type of mission are you looking to carry out?

As @CrewDad mentioned, the Navy (being under the Department of Defense) is combat and homeland defense oriented. I'm not an expert on the Navy or SWO path so I'll let others chime in there. In the Coast Guard, we carry out primarily humanitarian missions. There are 11 missions the CG focuses on:

Port & Waterway Security
Drug Interdiction
Aids to Navigation
Search & Rescue
Living Marine Resources
Marine Safety
Defense Readiness
Migrant Interdiction
Marine Environmental Protection
Ice Operations
Law Enforcement

https://www.gocoastguard.com/about-the-coast-guard/discover-our-roles-missions

https://www.uscga.edu/subspecialties/

I'd urge you to take a look at the links above. Explore each of the missions and the types of jobs that are offered. The second link breaks down the officer specialties you can get involved in, there are way more than I knew about when I started at CGA in 2010. What do you think when you explore the links? Does anything call out to you? The thing that I love most about the CG is that our missions are being carried out 24/7, we are always acting in response to or in preparation for an actual event, and our missions all revolve back to people. With only five years of active duty completed, I have taken part in or supported every single mission on that list. I spent my first two years on a 270-foot cutter, patrolling for roughly 2.5 months at a time in all areas of the Western Hemisphere. I spent time in the North Atlantic, Caribbean, and Eastern Pacific. The main missions I experienced were migrant interdiction, drug interdiction, a little living marine resources, and search and rescue. I have friends that have served onboard icebreakers and sailed from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica, breaking ice so that maritime commerce is not restricted or conducting scientific research. I have classmates that work in Bahrain onboard 110-foot patrol boats in support of CENTCOM and the Navy units stationed there, conducting security patrols and training foreign Coast Guards and Navies on different techniques. One of my co-workers now came from the Maritime Security Response Team, the counter-terrorism and counter-piracy arm of the CG. There are plenty of options to choose from.

As you are interested in cutters, you'll go underway your first two years in a training billet as a Deck Watch Officer or Engineering Officer in Training. Following that tour, you can complete for Command billets where, at 24/25 years old, you will serve as the Commanding Officer or Executive Officer of an 87-foot patrol boat, 110-foot patrol boat, or 154-foot Fast Response Cutter. Later, you can serve as the Operations Officer on a medium endurance cutter and set a goal to eventually Command one. In between these underway tours, you can explore other specialties mentioned in the second link I posted, attend grad school, or apply for special assignments and joint duty positions working in places like the White House, Capitol Hill, or the Pentagon.

The Coast Guard is a small service and the officer corps is the smallest percentage of that service. Every officer knows someone that knows you for the most part and it can help make your unit feel like your family. It also means that you cannot hide or slip under the radar. You have to perform and perform well. Officer promotions are like a pyramid, the higher you go, the less spots there are to fill and getting one of those spots is more competitive. As a small service, JOs are given a large amount of responsibility very quickly, whether that's in the amount of people you lead, the missions your entrusted to carry out, or the value of the property your charged with taking care of.

Your time as a JO will be tough no matter what service you choose, it's designed to be that way for a reason. Each individual's JO experience boils down to your Command and your work climate. The CG and the Navy both have units that have great climates and more negative climates. In the more negative environments, you'll learn lessons on how you don't want to lead. In the positive climates, you'll be challenged in a different way because the Command wants to make sure you can meet the standard. Both climates can be valuable learning experiences if you allow them to be, and the corporate world is the same. I have seen and experienced both types of climates. My time in the CG has not been 100% positive, but I have learned and grown from all of my experiences.

As @rjb said, this is a decision you have to make alone. So, do your research, continue to ask questions, consult your friends/mentors/parents and then go with what your heart and mind tell you. You will not be successful unless your passionate and committed, so don't let someone on an anonymous forum determine for you what that means.
 
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I had the same decision years ago -- to be fair, things were different then. I was certain I wanted to go to USCGA b/c of the career options upon graduation, especially for women at that time. However, when I visited, the school was too small and the very small number of women was an issue for me. In just a WE, I felt like I was seeing the same people over and over again and I didn't want that in a college experience. I want to emphasize that this was a personal issue at that time in my life, but it was a deciding one for me.

Flash forward. I'm pretty sure I enjoyed my time at USNA more than I would have at USCGA because it was a larger school. However, I do sometimes think I might have enjoyed life as a USCG officer more than what I personally did in the USN, which was limited given the options available at the time. Overall, my life has worked out so I made the right decision for me. But I do retain a strong fondness for USCGA/USCG.

One thing to consider as noted above is that not only USCGA but also the USCG is much, much smaller than USNA/USN. That's neither a positive nor a negative, just a fact. In the USN, you will know a certain group of people based on your school, your service selection and your assignments. You will also constantly encounter new people -- folks you've never heard of let alone worked with. The USCG is a more tight knit community where most officers know each other.

The USN has a relatively small number of reasonably large homeports, most of them in decent (warm) locations. They tend to be military communities with large support systems (hospitals, commissaries, clubs, family services, chapels, etc.). USCG has bases all over the US and the world. You could be stationed someplace where you may be one of the very few military folks there. Or at a major base. Again, the advantages and disadvantages of each are in the eyes of the beholder.

Finally, consider what you want to do. In the USN, your choices are essentially: surface ships, subs, aviation (fixed or rotary), USMC. There are some other options, but 85%+ of the class does one of the above. The USCGA missions are very different and are described above. The overlap in platforms (ships and rotary aviation) still have different missions. You may want to consider the likelihood of your getting your first (or second) choice in service selection -- IOW, if you want to be a helo pilot, how likely is that out of USNA or USCGA.

There's no "best" service or "right" answer overall. There will be a best option for you.
 
Resurrecting this thread as it has a ton of great insight and speaks to a decision my DD will need to make soon.....
A good position to be in.

Two very different services, two very different missions. (Yes,I get that USCG would serve as part of DOD in wartime, but realistically I hope we never get into that bad again), Think about post graduation mission first -- yes, quality of life as a USCG officer may be better at first, but Navy opens a lot of different, broader activities. Besides that, the Service Selection opportunities are much broader with Navy.

If you want to look at the School experience -again two different worlds. USNA is pretty small as colleges go, but USCGA is a micro-school, I think its about as big as one USNA class. A school that small isn't going to have near the opportunities and opportunities

Don't get me wrong -- USCGA is a good institution, but the two are really different animals.
 
Yes, you're number 1 decision factor should be the mission you want to be involved with for the 5 years after graduation. The 4 years at the Academy is a lesser, however, important factor-it's about 5% of your life span. Both are great services, but only one Beats Army in Football. Go Navy-Beat Army (again).
 
Usually @LineInTheSand pops up and describes how tight the classes are as one of the great plusses of USCGA. All SA attendees develop close bonds within classes, teams, ECAs, etc,, but USCGA cadets (and USMMA), because of much smaller class size, get to know everyone in their class, as well as the class above and below them. There is a degree of tightness that is unique.

Research the career paths available, see what appeals the most, in terms of 2-3 at each academy, and see if you can visit, if you haven’t already. You cannot go wrong with either academy or Service, it’s a matter of where you feel you will fit best. Two proud, historic and challenging sea services rich with tradition and heritage - you are indeed fortunate. The critical thing is to look beyond the SA “way station” and explore careers and culture.
 
Is she leaning more toward one in particular?
Having had the opportunity to spend a week at CG AIM and then cadet for a day I think leaning USCGA. However.... having 2 current mids from USNA come talk to her during Thanksgiving had a very positive impact.
 
Having had the opportunity to spend a week at CG AIM and then cadet for a day I think leaning USCGA. However.... having 2 current mids from USNA come talk to her during Thanksgiving had a very positive impact.
I think there's no bad choice here but as others have said, the time after the academy is the important deciding factor. Both are maritime services but so very different. I wore three ribbons from the Coast Guard so have a base of understanding and feel qualified to talk about life/duty/serving in that service. I would have been more than happy to have served 26 years in the CG instead of the USN. Both options for school and service after graduation cannot be topped in my not-so-humble opinion.
 
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