Careers in Coast Guard
- Thread starter Sixes
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Impulsive
5-Year Member
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- Feb 4, 2019
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Just a quick FYI, many if not most of the Law Enforcement positions in the CG are enlisted, either BM,ME, or MK. Generally, Commissioned Officers above the O-1 or junior O-2 level serve as unit CO or unit XO and are more on the admin and leadership side than the active LE side. MSRT, MSST, Taclets, and Ledets are commanded by an senior O-2 or O-3, but those individuals seldom deploy or respond with the unit.
As for contact info, co to the CG website, find one of the units you are interested in and contact the unit. They are usually more than happy to discuss duties, jobs, billets, and anything else you have questions about.
Here is a good place to start: https://thegunzone.com/coast-guard-msrt
https://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities for Officer opportunities.
MSST Miami contact info is: 786-243-4800
I was in before all the MSRT, MSST units, we had Taclets and Ledets. I served on Ledet Miami for six months (normal rotation) and only saw our CO one time (when reporting in). We rode Navy ships and did LE only, our team had a BMC as OinC and had four members, all enlisted.
As for contact info, co to the CG website, find one of the units you are interested in and contact the unit. They are usually more than happy to discuss duties, jobs, billets, and anything else you have questions about.
Here is a good place to start: https://thegunzone.com/coast-guard-msrt
https://www.gocoastguard.com/active-duty-careers/officer-opportunities for Officer opportunities.
MSST Miami contact info is: 786-243-4800
I was in before all the MSRT, MSST units, we had Taclets and Ledets. I served on Ledet Miami for six months (normal rotation) and only saw our CO one time (when reporting in). We rode Navy ships and did LE only, our team had a BMC as OinC and had four members, all enlisted.
Sixes
Member
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Thank you for the information. Is the reason for having a primarily enlisted unit for utilizing younger people so that they can perform for longer? Or is there another reasoning for that.
Impulsive
5-Year Member
- Joined
- Feb 4, 2019
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I can't speak for the Commandant, BUT traditionally enlisted Petty Officers and Chiefs have done most of the "boots on the ground" operations of the CG. Many if not most of these E-4 and above enlisted people have more experience, training, and knowledge than an O-1, O-2. or even many Junior O-3's have. I personally think it is because Officers are traditionally leaders and trainers, and not grunts doing the "manual labor" so to speak. Add to that Officers are "generalizers" and supposed to be versed in ALL CG missions, whereas Rated enlisted members are considered "Subject Matter Specialists" trained in a much more narrow field of expertise and much more highly trained thru "Specialized" schools.
Think of it this way, in a police force you have "Patrol Officers" who are younger less experienced and have SGT's (who have a few more years of experience) as supervisors, then you have "Detectives" who are more experienced, have more training, and do more skilled and complex investigations, and then you have District and HQ Commanders, who are LT and above (Officers in military parlance) who supervise, train, and oversee operations and investigations but don't participate in them.
If you look generally at almost all military organizations, you have a ton more enlisted than Officers. And most Officers above O-3 (in every service) get more in depth with admin, leadership, and planning then they do at participating. The reason for that, IMHO is that there needs to be someone in a position to make the bigger more consequential decisions, and those decisions can't be done "in the field" because the "Whole Picture" needs to be seen, and not the local picture. Junior Officers, to get the requisite experience do get to be "boots on the ground' so to speak, especially in Special Operations where the CO is an O-3, the XO is an O-2, and the O-1's are there to learn. once you get to O-4 and above, you are more in tune with Command policy and "the big picture' and make decisions on what the other people in the unit do and when they do it.
Part of this JO training is where the CG has O-2's or junior O-3's in command and an E-6 or better as XPO, to help give the JO the benefit of their experience, training, and expertise. So many Commissioned Officers get to serve in leadership positions in smaller operational units while they "learn" the duties and expertise their units need so that they can later Command and lead their troops or sailors.
Think of it this way, in a police force you have "Patrol Officers" who are younger less experienced and have SGT's (who have a few more years of experience) as supervisors, then you have "Detectives" who are more experienced, have more training, and do more skilled and complex investigations, and then you have District and HQ Commanders, who are LT and above (Officers in military parlance) who supervise, train, and oversee operations and investigations but don't participate in them.
If you look generally at almost all military organizations, you have a ton more enlisted than Officers. And most Officers above O-3 (in every service) get more in depth with admin, leadership, and planning then they do at participating. The reason for that, IMHO is that there needs to be someone in a position to make the bigger more consequential decisions, and those decisions can't be done "in the field" because the "Whole Picture" needs to be seen, and not the local picture. Junior Officers, to get the requisite experience do get to be "boots on the ground' so to speak, especially in Special Operations where the CO is an O-3, the XO is an O-2, and the O-1's are there to learn. once you get to O-4 and above, you are more in tune with Command policy and "the big picture' and make decisions on what the other people in the unit do and when they do it.
Part of this JO training is where the CG has O-2's or junior O-3's in command and an E-6 or better as XPO, to help give the JO the benefit of their experience, training, and expertise. So many Commissioned Officers get to serve in leadership positions in smaller operational units while they "learn" the duties and expertise their units need so that they can later Command and lead their troops or sailors.
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