Voski

Hi,

I am 30 credits into my college degree, and I am currently a fixed-wing private pilot, and later this year, I am going to begin training to receive my rotorcraft add-on.

My question is this: would my chances of getting into Coast Guard OCS dramatically increase if I were to enlist before becoming an officer? Additionally, assuming I make it as far as OCS, does prior enlistment help when competing for a pilot slot?

What I am thinking about is going into the Coast Guard enlisted, after 4 years get out, use my G.I. Bill to continue my flight training @ a Part 141 school, and then build my packet and apply for OCS, and hopefully land a pilot slot.

Any feedback on my plan would be great!
Thank you.

V

rickair7777

Generally, the USCG seems to place a high value on prior-enlisted, so yes it would help you get an OCS slot.

But unless things have changed recently, pilots slots are awarded out of OCS. I doubt that enlisted experience would help much with getting a pilot slot. That's one of the downsides of the USCG. You have to commit to OCS before you find out if you even get a chance to fly. There is one program out there where you can get a flight guarantee, but it is oriented towards minorities.

I'm not sure I would take a 4-year delay in order to enlist, unless you really need the GI Bill. From a career perspective you would be better off just knocking out college and getting on with it. Also aviation has an age limit which is usually 28 (this varies depending on need and military branch).

You might consider enlisting in the USCG reserve...that would get you the experience and credibility but allow to finish school sooner. If you get an OCS slot, you do not have to complete your enlisted commitment first. There is a reserve GI Bill also.

Voski

Rickair,

Thank you so much for your response! That was exactly what I was looking for; thank you for the thorough answer.

I considered the USCG Reserve and thought it would be a great credential for OCS, but I didn't realize that I could terminate my enlisted commitment if I were to receive an OCS slot. I will definitely do some more digging around for information on this.

I am not in dire need of the G.I. Bill, however, it definitely would be a bonus. The main reason I was considering prior-enlistment was because everyone I've talked to has said that getting the OCS slot, in many cases, is more competitive than getting into their aviation program. Like you said, though, it's one of those things where it may not be worth a "4-year delay" for the sake of having an enlisted background.

I am trying to pad my résumé as much as possible by having some military experience (USCG, albeit, possibly the reserves), a solid leadership history, a background in aviation (I would assume they would want someone proven to be capable of having the aptitude to fly) with different ratings, and obviously a solid GPA.

As I understand it, if I don't get flight school right out of OCS, I can continue to reapply until I make rank of lieutenant. I realize I could fly for another branch, such as the Army (WOFT), and get a guaranteed flight slot, however, the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard is highly appealing to me. So, it is a risk I am willing to take.

Zman

Voski - my advice would be to apply to CG OCS also. If you are given the appointment you don't have to take it. You also may be able to get a flight school guarantee, although that is a long shot. Much of the competition for the flight school spots in the CG are contingent on the staffing levels and right now the CG is fat on pilots.

Try to get as many doors open as possible, then choose the best one for you once you have all the options in front of you.

Coastie Pilot

Voski,
If you know you want to fly, just go ahead and apply to OCS now. It's impossible to predict what the people on your board will be looking for and how they value it. Enlisting for four years in order to build up your OCS experience, in my eyes, isn't something worth spending the time on. If you have a genuine interest in our enlisted/aircrew side, that's another story. There's lots of good times on that side of the house as well as some really fun deployments.

A couple of things to beware of. Flight school is competitive, but the good news if you can apply every 6 months. Also, if you get picked up for flight school, fixed wing is often very competitive as well and you may find yourself flying helos. If you are ok with that, go for it.

Good luck with whatever you decide and feel free to drop me a PM/reply if you have any more questions.

ChinookDriver47

Where are you getting that information from? A buddy, or an actual document some place? Very few of those statements are quantifiable seeing how th CG keeps such a small AD force. 42000 last time I looked. I have been on Army bases with more people! That being said, I seriously think that being "fat" on pilots is NOT a possibility. Slots are slots. You either have them or you don't, period.

If they are so fat on pilots, why are guys from flight school getting ads and calls from recruiters asking about their interest in the DCA program?

I'm liking that HC-144 myself, honestly......very tempted to apply to the program once my hours are up a little more.

USMCFLYR

I would do an interservice transfer and apply for that slot if I were eligible too.
Coastie Pilot ought to have a fair answer on whether the USCG is *fat* on pilots or not.

USMCFLYR

CGFLYER

Voski,

To echo what Coastie Pilot said, enlisting for 4 years to build up experience and make your flight school application more competitive is probably not the best use of your time. When I went through OCS I was a civilian off the street with some flight time and civie ratings and was fortunate to be picked up for flight school. In my experience it seems that OCS can be equally competitive coming from the enlisted world as it is from civie street. Rickair has some good advice, the CG reserve would be a great opportunity to get some CG exposure/benefits and give you the opportunity to finish school and continue your civilian flying.

As far as pilot staffing levels they seem to go up and down. A couple of years ago we were short on pilots and were aggressively holding DCA boards and increasing pilot recruitment. I'm not sure how it is now but with the state of the economy pilot retention probably has not been an issue and our pilot staffing level has probably caught up.

Feel free to PM if you want any other info.

Coastie Pilot

I'm stationed at the training center, so we hear a lot of fleet gossip, but take it with a grain of salt.

On the HU25 side of things, we are massively overpopulated at all of the units and for the next year at max production to keep making more. My two cents, this is going to slow down in the coming years because there are simply going to be too many pilots and not enough aircraft. The buildup is intentional as the HC144 comes on line but there is scuttlebutt about new aircraft acquisitions occurring a little slower than originally predicted.

I'm not sure how the HC130 side of the house is looking.

That's just info from another dumb pilot, so I wouldn't make lifetime decisions based on it alone! If this is something you really want, go for it.

Hobbit64

I'm new here and never served in the USCG, but I can't miss the opportunity to tell my story because I hope it helps the OP.

I applied for WOFT in the Army as a civilian, most Warrants are prior service so I had that 'going against me'. Also, my timing has always been abysmal. During my year group the Army was paying for training existing aviator transitions to modern aircraft by not hiring & training new aviators. Oh, yeah...the Bush (sr.) military cuts were being accelerated by clinton.

With all that against me I just kept smiling and nodding when everyone and his brother told me that the odds were stacked against me and I'd never make it. "come on, just enlist and start the application process from the inside." That was so the recruiter didn't have to do anything with me. Nothing wrong with serving as an enlisted troop, I just wanted to serve as a Warrant Officer Aviator. Nothing else.

The process took about a year or more because of a bunch of things but I got my shot and I earned my wings. It was a metric ton of sh!t to deal with but I refused to quit and got what I wanted.

Moral of the story: If you want it, DO IT!

Make the applications process your entire life from studying the aptitude tests to physical training to playing the politics with the recruiters.

I've flown military, part 121, part 135, part 91 and trained and instructed in part 61 and 141, and the in the Army.

The military flying you will do in the USCG will be the highlight of your life.

Start studying for your USCG aptitude tests.

Good Luck.