Originally posted by nirvana
I'd discussed it with Hornet several months ago but I'm looking at Machinery technician or Boatswain's Mate.
Ok a disclaimer here - I'm not exactly 'current' when it comes to recruiting issues (I went to MEPS a couple of decades ago...I now officially feel like lazs - F*CKING OLD -
heya lazs
), and the last time I worked at/near an RTC was a long while back as well. Also, I'm not USCG, but I have worked with them and have a lot of buddies that are Coasties.
1. Figure out what you want to do, and have it in writing before you swear in at MEPS/ship off to boot. If you have an idea of what you think you want to do, get your recruiter to hook you up with some AD Coasties and ask them about the day-to-day of the job you are interested in. You want to know what your daily life is going to be like, right?
2. Under no circumstances would I say you should be at boot with an undeclared rate/MOS/etc. As an E-Dog, this puts you completely at the mercy of the system. If you don't want to be a radiological straw-suck testing tech, and that's what they need, and you are undeclared, welcome to sucking radioactive sludge with a straw. Get the picture?
Machinery tech. - if you like doing mechanic stuff, sounds like a decent fit.
BM - these guys are the last of the 'real' Sailors. You do the actual Sailor Stuff on the boat/ship/etc., and you do all the little unlisted things and all the major non-specialized technical things that need to be done to keep the boat/ship/etc. afloat, ready to fight, etc. LOTS OF HARD WORK. LOTS OF DIRTY, THANKLESS, NEVER IN A RECRUITING COMMERCIAL WORK. That being said, ask a CG BM how fast advancement is for BMs, in the USN it's pretty damn fast - I have a couple of buddies who went BM because they wanted to make rank faster. If you want to be a Real Sailor (TM), you love boats, ships, boating and Sailor-type stuff, and it's a career for you...maybe BM is a good call. But be ready to work your bellybutton off, and the only respect you are going to get is from your fellow Apes and people who really know how the big machine works. But, if you are a BM, and on the job - everyone else will endeavor to get the f*ck out of your way. Admirals included.
As for MEPS, my recruiter took me in in the morning. It's no big deal. Remember that almost everyone at MEPS with you will talk a lot (because they are nervous), and they have no idea what they are talking about. Anyone with you who is quiet and bored is most likely prior service from a different branch.
Don't screw off, pay attention, etc.
As for boot, the biggest threat is boredom. You're going to be bored. Don't let it affect your paying attention (ATTENTION TO DETAIL...you're going to get that a lot), and young guys who are bored tend to do stupid *****. Avoid the stupid bored guys. Help out your buddies, they'll remember it and if you're helping your buddies you don't have any time to worry about yourself. A lot of guys freak out at sometime during the first 2 weeks of boot - first time away from home and having to listen to what strangers tell them to do, and realizing they HAVE to listen...a little culture shock is the norm. At the beginning of week 4 you'll look back at whatever had you all worked up in week 2 and laugh about it. I'll bet that every guy here who has been to boot will have a similar opinion. Boot is actually fairly wussy, the top exception being USMC boot followed by USA boot. You'll make some of your best friends ever there, and some of your funniest stories will be from boot and early on. Just don't f*ck up and enjoy the ride.
Good luck dude.
Mike/wulfie
p.s. One last thing, check out how many units of college you need to come in as an E-3. It used to be 30 (I think). If you can get some college under your belt before you show up at boot, it will pay off way more than you think it will. And get your degree A.S.A.P. There will be all kinds of programs for you to hack away at your degree while OTJ.
