A whispy fart off the coast of Rhode Island

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nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

Seriously though-I don't know what you like/don't like, so it's tough to gauge. You might really like woods hole, for all I know.

Wilmington weather is mild in the winter, humid in the summer, but overall really nice. You're far enough up where hurricanes sometime make a threat but not really.

Tons of college kids though-so if you don't like that, or southern people, it might not be the place. They are less southern than you would find in Yorktown, if that helps.

Edit: just saw Houston was listed. gently caress that.

# ¿ Sep 19, 2017 00:51

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 15:40

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

ElMaligno posted:

This is p much what people have suggested me.

laugh all you want but BAH in the bay area went down for the first time in almost a decade.

drat-Boston just dropped $200 bucks for next year too.

# ¿ Dec 31, 2017 06:07

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

ElMaligno posted:

Happy new years you animals.

Now I am officially going to Astoria and will probably get a roommate because why the gently caress not and I may as well.

Congrats-hope you like it. 25% through grad school and so far I'm putting in more hours at school than I was at work.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2018 18:47

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

ElMaligno posted:

I have no idea what this means in this context.

My potential roommate is a 21 year old fresh from OS A-School kid that wants to live in Portland, OR and have an hour and half commute to work.
I almost laughed in his face.

Yuck. I mean, *maybe* it wouldn�t be that bad if he knew his schedule was like 2 on/4 off or whatever you guys do and he sleeps at the unit between shifts, but since he�s straight out of A then he�s just going to be on lovely break-in rotations, so gently caress that poo poo.

# ¿ Feb 9, 2018 21:01

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

Hey thanks for reaching out! I was a boatswains mate for 6 years before I commissioned, and can answer a few of your questions. I�ll try and give some more information tomorrow, but very quickly-it�s not a dumb rate-just people loving with each other mainly. It�s not a huge guarantee for outside employment, unless you want to be a cop or something similar down the road...driving boats and carrying a gun just doesn�t open up a TON of options. However, sea time served can meet the requirements for a 100 ton license/similar if you take the test within 3 years of acquiring that sea time.

All in all, it�s a great gig-I�ll try and post tomorrow with some amplifying information.

# ¿ Feb 11, 2018 02:36

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

stackofflapjacks posted:

Hi Coast Guard thread! I'm considering enlisting and I wanted to ask people who are in about different jobs. I understand and have read about how it can vary broadly between stations and commands in how your job functions. However I am comfortable with some general nature and am looking for guidance from you salty folks.

About myself: Born and raised in Alaska, 27, male with no college degree. Went to a NG high school program and graduated valedictorian (hah) and when I took the ASVAB I scored high, 92 or something like that, it's been 10 years. I put up with all of the bullshit well and enjoyed the experience overall. Been working ever since, done a little of everything but I have gravitated towards more labor jobs after getting 'cushy' office jobs I get bored as hell and quit within 6 months.

This brings me to jobs, I have this idea in my head that enlisting and putting in for Boatswain Mate will give me a very quintessential CG experience, namely operating boats and commanding ships, doing boardings and being the active component of the CG. However I've caught some hint that it's looked down on as the dumb grunt rate? Nothing much, seems like light hearted ribbing but also haven't heard much besides that about this rate.

If I'm trying to get some skills to bring with me to civilian life does this hold any value in maritime jobs? Can I get a captains license from hours serving as a crew member? As a larger rate does this give more opportunities for advancement? Am I better off going for a different rate?

IT holds some interest but I'm wondering if I'm doing a one term enlistment if I could do better as a BM and use the GI Bill for an IT degree over getting questionable experience plugging in phones and generally doing basic things in the CG and hating life as a help desk cubicle. Is this a misconception in a small service like the Coast Guard? Also what is the difference between IT and Intelligence Specialist?

From what I've heard about IT, a lot of the technology they do learn is outdated, so transferring those skills to the civilian side doesn't really work well. An Intelligence Specialist (IS) is completely different from IT...I'll let El Maligno weigh in on this, but IS is more intel specific, then IT support.

quote:

The last rate I've got interest in is ET or AET. I've seen lots and understand aviation has a better quality of life, home most days kind of thing and that interests me as I like the idea of having a job over having a cutter posting my whole enlistment where my girlfriend and dog are stuck waiting for me. However I feel that doing AET will be nice but I'll be a non rate for 18 months with the possibly of being on a cutter anyway waiting for A school to open then I'll only be enjoying aviation life for a year or two tops? Is this tradeoff worth it?

Aviation is cool, but advancement is generally slow...lots of people locked up in that field because they generally enjoy what they do and stick around.

quote:

Also is ET more likely to end up on larger ships? Or can you get a small boat station?

lots of ET's on larger ships. You won't go to a small boat station. Only ratings at small boat stations are BM/MK/ and the occasional ME...there's a rare YN or SK at some of them, but that's getting phased out. For an ET, you could go to a land support unit (ESD-Electronics Support Detachment) where you go and work on the electronics for small boats at various stations, but you won't be stationed there.

quote:

Finally, I've heard that basic posting priority is based on class ranking? T/f? Then my plan from that follows with taking an OCONUS posting out of basic gets you higher priority along with class ranking when you are setting your dream sheet out of A school? Does OCONUS mean outside the contiguous US? How likely am I to get Hawaii, Guam, PR or Alaska out of basic if I plan on being top of my class? What districts or stations would be 'better' out of A schooling terms of my priorities, namely, high ops tempo, small boat station or cutters that deploy for weeks instead of months at a time?

I realize it's a lot of questions, and I'm sure more than a couple that can be answered by a recruiter but I trust people who are more seasoned and perhaps less optimistic about any and every job, area etc of the CG. Thanks for the your time.

I dunno how they do boot camp selection nowadays...mine was 12 years ago. I put in for 3 polar icebreakers and got one of them. /shrug. A school's do things differently depending which way the wind is blowing. Some will just take class rank in A school into account, others will give you a few extra points if you were OCONUS or on a ship for your first unit. I wouldn't put too much stock in that, honestly, unless someone else can give more updated info. Just keep your head down and do really well in A school, and you should rank high enough to get what you want.

OCONUS means not the 48 states. If you want alaska, you can usually get it. There's non-rates at all the other places you mention, it just matters how many places need them at a time.

High ops tempo? You probably want anywhere in D7 if you want to do drug chasing and migrant interdiction...it really all depends. Everywhere has ships of all sizes, so it depends which one you end up on, and that will show how long you are underway for at a time...generally:

Patrol boat (87 or 110) out for a week at a time, in for a week at a time, but you can get recalled a lot.

210'/270'-out for 60-75 days at a time, in for the same amount

378- up to 90 days at a time, in for the same amount.

nwin fucked around with this message at 02:58 on Feb 12, 2018

# ¿ Feb 12, 2018 02:55

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# ¿ May 9, 2024 15:40

nwin: Feb 25, 2002; make's u think

ElMaligno posted:

im an OS not an IS

tbh i have no idea what IS do, except that they collate intel, give it to the proper people, and they need a TS to do their job.

Fair enough-I still just always lump you guys together.

# ¿ Feb 12, 2018 03:34

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Internet VFW > A whispy fart off the coast of Rhode Island

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