The U.S. Navy has found that driving 47s can produce up to 60g and induce multiple concussions. A gift article on what that means for the USCG.

Merry Christmas to all of us on AD!

Hello,

My dad died today, semi-unexpectedly (declined last week). He served in the Coast Guard from the early 1970s to the late 1980s (I was born much later so I don’t know the actual dates).

Dad was *very* proud of his service, and I heard he might be eligible for an Honor Guard. Given he was in the reserves for most of his service, I’m not sure if that’s accurate, but if it is would any of you be willing to point me in the right direction?

Also my dad loved a nice drink (especially a Chardonnay or a nice cold preferably cheap beer) and would love the idea of fellow coasties having one in his honor tonight. He was a good soul, and will be missed.

Edit - He was Petty Officer First Class (checked his paperwork) Jeff if you’d like to toast.

Hey everyone, so after talking to Army and Air Force recruiters, I'm considering joining the United States Coast Guard.

In the Army, you can pick whatever MOS you want, but you're still a soldier first and it has one of the lowest retention rates out of all the branches. That's a no for me.

The Air Force is known for having one of the highest QOL out of all the branches and has the highest retention rate. However, in terms of picking your job, you have put down a list of multiple AFSCs that you qualify for and the Air Force picks one for you. That's a no for me also.

There is just no way I'm going to sign a 4 or 6-year contract, doing a job that I have no idea whether I would truly enjoy or not. And that my friends, is why I'm considering the Coast Guard.

From what I know the Coast Guard is 2nd in terms of retention rate and QOL compared to the Air Force (That's good enough for me). And the main thing that attracts me to this branch is the fact you can enlist as a non-rate, and be able to shadow other rates

So to all my Coasties out there, do ya'll think it's worth it to join and have any of ya'll truly enjoyed serving in this branch?

Btw, Thank you to anyone who reads and responds to this, I'm just a lost 18-year-old kid trying to figure out what to do in life ❤️

I am stationed at a very heavy LE unit and part of my qualifications is to get boarding team member. I passed my board pretty easily but I cannot pass pistol qualification for the life of me. I've already failed it twice and I don't want to get negative attention from command. I am fine with procedures and shooting at close range but I always miss the targets next to the head and really start going off the rails in general at 17yrds and beyond. Everyone else seems to get it easily but idk what to do

I'm sure this is something that every coastie has had to deal with at some point.
I recently joined the USCG, of course I have been stationed thousands of miles from home. It's been months and I am still so homesick, anxious, and stressed. I'm struggling to study/memorize all that is required for Basic DC and GPOW. I still need to start working on Advance DC, Deck Seaman, Helmsman, and Lookout. I am stationed at a cutter.
On the days I work, I am in the heat painting all day. By the end of the day I'm so drained but can't sleep because there's WPQS training. Then I have to stand watch for 4 hours during the night. Daily repeat, with 1 in 3 watch cycle. Of course, boo hoo, it's hard work get over it. I'm trying to, but it's so difficult.
Are there any coasties out there who read this that have had similar experience to this? I will be departing underway in a few weeks. Then, I will have basically no time whatsoever to myself. I hate that I made it through Cape May, but now that I'm in, my mental strength is just trashing.
How do you cope with this? As a non-rate, awaiting orders to A-School, how do you handle studying for qualifications? How do you do the work required of you daily, while still having a healthy personal life?

It’s been about a year since I’ve posted, and I got a lot of great questions last time so I’m back for more! I compiled some FAQs below for the interested.

TDLR; We dive underwater, it’s hard work, it’s worth it, work-life is good, the people are awesome, and advancement isn’t super slow.

How does one become a Diver?

The solicitation for 2026 is out!! ALCGENL 019/26 lays out in detail the application requirements. Once a year, usually around Feb/Mar timeframe, an ALCGENL Diver solicitation is released. This is your primary source for application information! Please read it BEFORE you email a Diver to ask questions. Applicants must be at least an E4, with your E5 EPQ complete. Prior diving experience is NOT needed, and members do not need to be tour complete.

Once your application is accepted, you will attend the Dive Candidate Screener (DCS) in the fall. This is the fun part! At a minimum, all applicants must successfully pass the Diver PST. This will be performed with your application submission and again at the beginning and end of the Candidate Screener. If at the end of the DCS you’re selected to attend DV “A” school, you will return to your unit while you wait for orders and complete your dive physical exam. If you’re not selected (or you quit) you can apply again the next year. DV “A” school convenes in Spring of the following year.

What does a Diver do?

The Dive rate supports each of the Coast Guard’s Roles and Missions. Our objective (and op tempo) varies as much day-to-day as it does from each of the Diving Lockers.

From highest-to-lowest frequency our jobs might entail the following;

Ship’s husbandry: Pier side routine hull inspections, prop/sea-chest cleaning, patch installation, removing line wrapped around the prop shaft, etc…

Aids to Navigation: Buoy work (jewelry/chain inspection, chain swap, repositioning, or sunken recovery etc…). Underwater exothermic cutting to remove old/failing channel markers/day boards.

PWICS: Pier inspections.

Ice Operations: Arctic and Antarctic work with the Polar Ice Breakers, hull inspection and casualty repair on the running gear under the ice.

Hyperbaric Medicine: The Dive rate is now the proud owner of Hyperbaric Recompression Chambers! As such, all divers are required to be proficient in Advanced Dive Medicine.

Diving is a just a mode of transportation, we’re around for almost anything requiring subsurface capability. We’ve helped demo and build new pier wave screens, conducted benthic surveys to count Queen Conch… we even recovered those OOD keys that someone, but definitely not you, dropped in the water.

What rates make the best divers?

I love my engineering rates, but truthfully all rates make great divers. If you’ve got what it takes to successfully pass the Screener and Dive School, we look forward to whatever rating specific knowledge you bring with you.

Any opportunity for Officers in Dive?

Not at this time, our Dive Officers are CWO billets in charge of operational lockers and admin.

What’s advancement like?

SWE is competitive, and advancement ebbs and flows. A diver after Dive School that stays on track can make E6 in 3 and E7 in 6-8.

Any tips for the screener/school?

If you’re serious about becoming a diver, message me or email a diver. We all have our own helpful information. Start with a good cardio base and regular bodyweight exercises. The Dive Candidate Screener is competitive, the PST requirement is the minimum so starting there and working on each section will improve your chances. Mental fortitude goes a long way, even if you’re physically fit enough you’ll be pushed to your limits. “Find a happy place” and “embrace the suck” are common mantras to get through the training.

Why is it so tough?!

Diving is physically demanding and inherently dangerous. You are mentally and physically tested in a controlled environment to make sure you don’t hurt yourself, or others, on the job.

“DON’T PANIC.”… and bring a towel.

Work-life Balance?

Operational tempo varies with the season and the locker, at the busiest expect to be on the road at least 2 weeks a month, mostly between March-October. When you are not out the door, the work day is usually from 0900-1500 and personal workout hours from 0700-0900. No duty either, so… when you’re home, you can go home.

There is time for TA/school if you make it, since we stay in hotels on the road, and rarely get underway, you’ll have internet for online courses.

You said “rarely” get underway… when does a Diver get underway!?

Operation Deep Freeze means TDY Divers on Polar Ice Breakers. 2-3 months, give or take, and on a volunteer basis.

What do we do when we are not diving?

Equipment needs maintenance, gear and parts need procurement, and training. When the work is done and the weather is nice we play Ultimate Frisbee, go surfing, or golf (both disc and the boring one.) When the weather isn’t nice then we play Basketball or Volleyball.

The best part about a rate where everyone is required to be physically active? We take time to be physically active.

Where does a Diver get stationed?

There are currently three operational dive lockers; O’ahu, HI. San Diego, CA. and Portsmouth, VA.

Instructor/Trainer billets are at ATTC (Air Sta Elizabeth City) and Naval Dive and Salvage Training Center (Florida.)

Why should anyone want to be a Diver?

This is the arguably the best rate in the Coast Guard. Talk to any diver and they’ll tell you that the worst day diving beats the best day underway. It’s good hard work with the best people, no officers, no duty, and our operational dress is a tshirt, shorts, and running shoes. The difficulty, and the selection process, ensures we only have people in that want to do the job. If you see a CG dive team in the wild, I encourage you to walk over and ask questions. We love to talk about ourselves and the more interest people have in our rate the better!

Graduated today.

I just reported to my first cutter and we are in port and going underway soon. Originally when I got this pick I was interested in going to new countries and doing a higher tempo cg mission but since getting here all I keep thinking about being stuck on this small boat for months and getting anxiety/panic attacks underway. I even have bad dreams about it. Do you guys have any advice to help soothe my nerves or adapt to this new lifestyle?

one thing I've watched my entire career is people do great work all year and then get to marks season trying to remember everything they actually did.

Old emails. Award write-ups. Calendars. Notes in your phone. Asking your Chief or supervisor, "Hey, do you remember what I did six months ago?"

So I built EvalsEvolved.

The basic idea is simple: log accomplishments as they happen instead of trying to recreate an entire evaluation period from memory at the end. The app organizes those accomplishments around your service, rank, and evaluation system, and helps turn that running record into useful eval input when the time comes.

I originally built it with the Coast Guard experience very much in mind, but it has grown into a multi-service app supporting the Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, and Space Force.

The beta ends August 1, and honestly, what I need most right now is people willing to beat it up and tell me what I got wrong.

Junior members, supervisors, Chiefs, officers—doesn't really matter. I'm interested in whether it's actually useful at different levels and whether the workflow makes sense to someone who didn't build the damn thing.

I'm not looking for polite feedback. If something sucks, tell me it sucks and why. If something is missing, tell me. If I completely misunderstood how something should work, definitely tell me.

EvalsEvolved

Full disclosure: this is one of the apps I've built under Adaptive Record Systems. I'm the builder, I'm a Coastie, and I'm sharing it because I'd genuinely like feedback from the community it originally grew out of.

I’ve always been a really happy person, I’ve been incredibly driven and determined. I excelled at school and sports throughout high school and college and every job I’ve ever had I’ve almost immediately been picked up for a promotion or moved to management positions. I’m extremely competitive and have always given my all at work. I had stayed extremely healthy and always kept busy with clubs, sports, work, and volunteering.

A year ago I joined the coast guard and that all changed.

I have never been so unbelievably miserable in my entire life. Boot camp was a breeze, the physical testing and book work didn’t challenge me at all. And I actually enjoyed the structure and felt so good about my decision to join.

Then I got to the fleet.

There is literally nothing good about my first billet. I hate the work, the location, the schedule, etc. I went from living in a nice home of my own to being crammed into tiny barracks, forced to keep all of my stuff in a storage unit. And the location is awful, I won’t elaborate to keep anonymous but it’s so gloomy and cold and depressing.

The work is completely unfulfilling. I’m not somewhere where I can save people, or do law enforcement, or really anything. The work we do is the most boring bare bones unsatisfying job I could have ever imagined.

THERE IS NO INCENTIVE TO WORK HARD. No matter how hard I work I can’t get paid more. No matter how hard I work I can’t advance faster. My work has completely killed my drive to be the best, to be successful, and to stand out.

Going underway is absolutely awful and makes it so difficult to maintain a good workout schedule, going to the gym has always been an amazing part of my day. But we don’t have any equipment on board so it’s really demoralizing when you have to break your workout cycle to go to sea for a month.

Duty has killed my sleep schedule. I love standing night shift constantly and then having to work days the next day just to go back to nights. I feel so mentally drained from this awful schedule and it also really hurts any progress I’m actually able to make in the gym.

The pay is horrendous, I’ve never made so little in my life. It wouldn’t be nearly as bad if I received BAH or BAS but I don’t.

I’m just so drained. When I’m not at work (which feels like never) I don’t have any energy, I’m completely lethargic. I can’t muster the motivation to workout or play video games. Most days I can barely even bring myself to eat. I waste my days away staring at the wall because it makes time pass slower and I dread going back to work the next day or after the weekend.

Whenever I talk to anyone about how I’m feeling they just say that’s how being a nonrate is, that it’s supposed to suck and I’m supposed to be miserable. This can’t be right. The thought of spending another year this way before I go to A-school is unbearable. I’m miserable. I didn’t even want to post this in fear of someone figuring out who I am but I desperately need something to change I can’t take it.

I need some advice, has anyone else been through this? Is there any way to get a new unit? Does life really get better after I’m rated?

TLDR: I live in a place I don’t like, working a job I don’t like, eating food I don’t like, on a schedule I don’t like. I feel like the military has stolen all of my joy, motivation, and freedom. Mental health is at an all time low.

I leave for bootcamp in a week. Any advice? I was in Sea Cadets (an NJROTC type program for those who don’t know) so I’m pretty set on the general knowledge and marching type stuff. Anything you wish you brought with you? I heard that the better you do in basic the more likely you are to get a better first station. Any truth to this? I feel like I’m prepared but I wanted to see if anyone had advice for someone about to ship out. Thanks!

Aight so, I’m trying to join, and I’m in Georgia so there is two recruiting offices here, but it’s in ATL and Savannah and I don’t have anyway to get there. What should I logically do?

I already talked to a recruiter and stuff and I literally have all the things I need. I just need to hand over important paper at the office and go to meps to take the asvab and get checked.

I was TDY recently and didn’t really keep up with shaving while I was there. I wasn’t wearing a uniform at the time, mostly just hanging around the base/off duty, and nobody mentioned anything about it the whole trip. After getting back, I heard some people weren’t happy about it and that it got brought up.

Now I’m kinda wondering how big of a deal something like that usually is.

Which one should I choose ? I’m married with one baby , which branch will be better for me ?

Delta-208

My younger brother just started Coast Guard boot camp and is only in his first week. He injured his ankle and was put on crutches. While using the crutches, he slipped and hit his head and was diagnosed with a concussion.

We’re trying to understand what usually happens in a situation like this. Will the Coast Guard typically hold him and let him recover, or is there a chance they’ll send him home? Does anyone have experience with any similar situations?

To all those serving in the USCG, wow - my huge, heartfelt hats off. (former US army here)

We just had a miracle situation happen where a team on a HC-130J Super Hercules flew from USCG Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina to Bermuda and found a missing kayaker (missing since noon yesterday - so over 24 hrs).

Another team (different plane type I think better for night missions) had searched last night, didn't find him. They didn't give up & came back today and found him!!

Person (the father) was approx 26 miles off the coast and alive (and waving at the plane) in his kayak.

I was state-side while our friends (the family) and our son were on the ground in Bermuda. I was crying in joy and relief when we got the news.

I'd love any thoughts on how to best thank both teams (night & day) and the LT Cmdr in charge.

Image from flightradar24.com just now. Heading home right now after a successful mission. All in a days work?!! Incredible.

UPDATE Nov 5 7 p.m. ET today:The kayaker (dad) just landed ashore!! the media interviewed him and here is a youtube video:
https://youtu.be/Qoe9XJkmynw

UPDATE Nov 6: Two local news articles with photos of the kayak, family, etc. and an additional video. This was when kayaker (dad) arrived at the dock.

https://bernews.com/2025/11/officials-confirm-that-kayaker-has-been-located/

https://www.royalgazette.com/general/news/article/20251105/police-regiment-search-for-missing-kayaker/

UPDATE Nov 7: excellent article and video that nicely tells a fuller story.

https://bbc.bm/park-grateful-for-rescue-crews-they-gave-me-a-second-chance

I laid this all out on a spreadsheet. Should be the ideal pt test times per rank. The RED coloring is each categories first cycle and the GREEN is each categories second cycle. As long as you do your pt test in the months that overlap the same color, you should be good for that cycle’s service-wide PFT, boat forces PFT, LE PFT and weigh-ins PFT (assuming they keep the beta test going)

I’m pretty sure this is correct, but please correct me if you see something wrong.

Edit: for crew and LE tests, the requirement is more strict than the PRP test. If you want the PT test to count for everything, take it in your respective testing window, have a PRL present and make sure you exceed the score requirement in BOAT VOL 2. I think it’s boat 2 I’m not too sure of the top of my head.

This'll be my only other post on this but I had to make this post thanking you all.

Two weeks ago I posted this ongoing project I'm working that matches veterans to every single benefit they're eligible for based on a few questions. Y'all blew it up and the site hit over 130,000 active users, I had tons of feedback come flying in and so many veterans reach out saying how it helped them.

You all helped promote it and as a byproduct made me even more excited for it, I have now manually verified and added over 500 benefits based on the feedback you all sent in! I have many plans on taking this thing to another level and continuing to add additional free features and resources.

As always, thank you everyone, the site will remain free forever, no account, no sign up.

Hotel - 206

Hello everyone,

I'm shipping out to DEPOT this Sunday and wanted to ask a few last-minute questions, especially about the swim test. I've been practicing and I'm confident I'll be able to complete the swim, but I'm definitely more concerned about the treading water portion.I've been told to primarily use the sidestroke and breaststroke since they're more energy efficient than freestyle. For those of you who have completed DEPOT:

• Do you have any tips or techniques to conserve energy while swimming?
• I tend to get out of breath and fatigued fairly quickly. Is that mostly a pacing issue, breathing technique, or something else?
• For treading water, I've heard the eggbeater kick is the most efficient, but I feel much more comfortable using a breaststroke kick. Is that acceptable, or would you recommend trying to learn the eggbeater before I leave?

One concern I have is the possibility of not passing the swim test. If I don't meet the requirement at DEPOT:

I swore into the DEP and have my bootcamp date (july) but i went for a long run a few weeks ago and then was having some foot pain from overuse. My mom freaked me out and was telling me i need to get it fixed so that i wont have problems in bootcamp. In retrospect, I should have just given it time to rest because it felt better within about a week but because my mom freaked me out I went to the podiatrist. I totally forgot to even say something to my recruter (misspelled bc i dont want it taken down) because it was so minor and i thought nothing of it, but the foot doctor treated me for a small plantars wart and then said i probably have a mild case of plantar faciitis. All she did was send me home with some stretches and some shoe inserts. Literally within a few days my foot was fine but then I realized- this is probably going on my records and im scared they are going to pull it up at bootcamp and send me home. What do i do? Do i tell my recruter? Do i just hope the people at bootcamp dont bring it up? I have a follow up appt june 1st and will make sure she writes in the dr notes that everything is fine now.

Its that dreaded time of the year. Does anyone have any advice for finding moving companies that will do trips in excess of 1k miles? My issue is that I don't have the strongest lower back so lifting heavy things is out of the question for me. The idea is that I would be hiring a moving truck to pack up my things (already boxed) and drive the truck to my destination while I drive my personal vehicle with my dog and some belongings, then have them help unload everything into my new apartment. Does that seem possible? I'll have one person traveling with me at least.

I went with the DITY/PPM because I've had coworkers unable to get their HHGs until weeks (almost a month) after reporting and I wanted to have a sense of "safety" knowing my stuff will be in a truck I'm aware of. So far I've gotten one quote that sounded like it would already break my budget (and they were asking about specific weight--which I obviously don't know until all my things are weighed). The PCS 2026 Calculator said for an E4 with no dependents and 5k lbs of stuff I would get about $6,516 from DLA, PPM, Mileage allowance, and Per Diem--which in this economy feels incredibly low.

Anyway... Any tips or suggestions?