Originally Posted by
rickair7777
The USCG (or any other military branch) will provide far better compensation than any other entry-level aviation job. You should be able to make any reasonable loan payments, and even get ahead of the ball after a few years.
The weapon question raises a red flag in my mind...ultimately the USCG is an armed service, even if many of their peacetime missions don't involve the use of force. In time of war, the ENTIRE USCG can be transferred into the US Navy. Any USCG officer could get assigned to a wide variety of missions, although I think aviators mostly stick to flight-related jobs.
I don't think they will (or should) accept you if you are a conscientious objector of some sort. Civilian aviation has no such issues of course.
Rickair is correct, being a conscientious objector is a show stopper for the CG. Despite its life saving role, the CG is still an armed military service and any CG member could be tasked for war time missions.
Also, the process to get into the CG as an officer, pilot or enlisted member is not a short process and is also by no means guaranteed. Today the CG is overstaffed and from my knowledge recruitment has been cut dramatically. With this in mind an application to any military service is going to take 110% dedication and unwavering desire to join. So if you are having the doubts as discussed above I would say that the CG and the military is probably not the way to go.