Coast Guard Flying???

AA

New Member
Hey guys, does anyone here know anything about flying for the U.S. Coast Guard. Any info would be great, thanks a lot!!
 
Nope, I don't. But I did see a pretty cool sight the other night. I landed at CCR and heard a twin commander do a practice approach. When I parked my cousin and I watch what we thought was the twin commander inbound. Turned out it was a c-130 doing a touch-and-go, on 5000ft runway. Pretty awesome sight.

I too would like to hear from any coast guard flyers...
 
A C-130 doing a touch & go? Yawn.

What's cool is when they land short-field, power-back (taxi backwards) to the touchdown spot, and take off again. THAT'S cool.
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For Coast Guard you will have to have a 4 yr degree (at least). They do not have Aviation Officers Candidate School as the Navy does. You have to go into OCS and then train in some area of the Coast Guard aboard ship for at least a year (I think that is still correct).

Then you (along with plenty of others) compete for the few slots available (both fixed and rotary). That is if you meet the minimum standardized testing (not sure what that is now). Not impossible but not easy (At least that was the way it was in 93 when I looked at it). So you are not guaranteed a pilot slot upon entry. If you don't make it into the program, you will spend the next several years not flying. Though friends of mine that went into the Coast Guard (non pilots) still had a great experience. Except the one that was in a winter storm on a fishing boat rescue off the coast of Kodiak Island......
 
AA

Like juskl said, there is no specific Aviation OCS program in the CG. You have to apply and be accepted to OCS, then when you graduate you can apply for flight training. I believe the current obligation after flight training is 6 years, which is several less than the other services.

If you don't get accepted, well you spend 3 years as a CG Officer on boats or in Maritime Safety, Port Security, or one of many other ground based jobs.
See: Flight School web page for more info.

Another way to become a CG Aviator is if you are already a military trained pilot. The CG has what is called the Direct Commission Aviator program. It applies to Army Warrant Officers, as well as Commissioned Officer pilots of all services. I believe you do not have to have a 4 year degree for this program.
See: DCA web page for more info.

As a retired CG pilot, I highly recommend it!!!! The mission is expanding all the time with all the threats to our country and the USCG is in the thick of things now that it is in the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Bob
 
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AA

Another way to become a CG Aviator is if you are already a military trained pilot. The CG has what is called the Direct Commission Aviator program. It applies to Army Warrant Officers, as well as Commissioned Officer pilots of all services. I believe you do not have to have a 4 year degree for this program.

As a retired CG pilot, I highly recommend it!!!! The mission is expanding all the time with all the threats to our country and the USCG is in the thick of things now that it is in the Dept. of Homeland Security.

Bob

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Only thing that sucks about the direct commission program is that [I still think] the CG will commission you as an O-2, regardless of what your previous military grade was.
 
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Only thing that sucks about the direct commission program is that [I still think] the CG will commission you as an O-2, regardless of what your previous military grade was.

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MikeD

Yep, that sucks big time!! And when I was in the CG the promotions were very slow. I was a DCA from the Army. I had been a Captain (O-3) for several years and had to take a cut in rank when I came in the CG. I was getting out of the Army anyway to continue flying, so the CG was a flying job with the hope of getting into fixed-wing, something that was not possible in the Army. I was an infantry officer in the Army. At that time they did not have an aviation branch for the commissioned officer pilots in the Army, so I kept getting sent back to infantry assignments, but I wanted to fly full time.

It worked. I got to fly fixed-wing aircraft (almost 2000 hours instructing for the Navy in the T-34C and a couple thousand more in the HU-25 version of the Falcon 20 bizjet) and got with the airlines when I retired. I had 12 years in the Army and 8 in the CG and retired as a LT O-3. After being commissioned into the CG as a LTjg, I spent 4 years at that rank and then 4 years as a LT. At that time I had 20 years total military active duty and decided to retire and try to fly for the airlines.

BTW, if you are an Army Warrant Officer aviator in the Army and get selected for the CG DCA program, you come in as an Ensign (O-1, which is like a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army/Air Force/Marine Corps).

Overall, the US Coast Guard is a great service!! My only regret about my career in the military is that I didn't switch over from the Army to the CG earlier so I could have spent more time in that great service.

Bob
 
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