Let me first apologize for what I suspect will be a lengthy post. If you are a military aviator or have knowledge of this subject, please continue reading and give me whatever advice you can. I have been seriously considering a career in the USCG for several years and I have several questions before taking the plunge.

First of all, I am 24 years old and live in the midwest. I have a bachelor's degree in sociology and will complete my master's degree in criminal justice leadership and management in August 2010. I have been a police officer for 3.5 years for a medium-sized agency (160 sworn). I consistently lead my department in most statistics and am known as a hard worker who is "on the fast track" to management. I hold a private pilot's license and will hopefully add an instrument rating by the end of 2010, which is when I intend to apply to the coast guard. By that time, I should have a little over 150 hours TT with approximately 20 of those rotary.

Aviation and law enforcement have been the only two interests I have ever had. I almost went Air Force ROTC out of high school, but changed my mind at the last minute for a career in law enforcement. I would love nothing more than to fly for the USCG. None of the other services are a serious option for me at this point in my life because I think a lengthy overseas deployment would be too trying on my young family.

Since I don't want to take the chance of going to OCS and not getting a pilot slot, my only viable option is the Blue 21 program. When I found out about this program two years ago, I was disappointed to learn my bachelor's degree from a large state university didn't meet the minority requirement. For this reason, I chose to immediately start on my master's degree at a school which did qualify.

If anyone has any experience with the Blue 21 program, what do you feel my chances for success are (I know it's a crystal ball question, but try to humor me)? I know the program is intended to attract minority candidates, so will being a white male make it a long shot for me? Once one applies for the Blue 21 program, how long is the selection process? If not selected, can (should?) one apply again, and if so, how many times?

My next set of questions regard life as a coast guard aviator. This is the one subject I really haven't been able to find much info about on the internet and what I am most interested to learn about. Since I live in the midwest, visiting an air station and talking to pilots isn't a convenient option. Before I apply, I want to make sure living as a coast guard pilot is something that will work well for me and my family.

How are duty locations selected and do pilots have any input? How often do pilots transfer to other stations? What is a typical day like at an air station? How are the shifts? Are more senior pilots always on daytime shifts, while rookies work nights, or do they rotate? What about deployments? How many per year? What are they like? What are the differences between helo and fixed wing deployments? What air stations have more than others?

Whew, sorry again for the long-windedness. I just haven't been able to find this information anywhere online and would like to learn as much about life as a coastie as possible before sending in the paperwork. Any other information you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.