Should i join the Coast Guard?

Question

Im a 19 year old male. I have always thought about joining the Military. Ive done research on all 5 Branches and i think i have landed on the Coast Guard.

Im a great swimmer. Follow directions very well. and Work in a team great. I want to do something worth while in my life before i get to old. Is the coast guard a good choice? What are the Pro's and Con's? and what are the benefits or draw backs of being in the Coast Guard?

Answer 1

Pro's:

*You won't be sent to Afganastan or Iraq (You can respond to a solicitation to be deployed to Bahrain if you want).

*Unlike the Navy, you won't spend 6 months at a time underway.

*You MAY have some say in where you are stationed.

* Awesome health insurance, eligibilty for the GI Bill, tuition assistance (seperate for the GI Bill), Life insurance.

*If you have a good attitude, you should be able to get through bootcamp without problems.

Con's:

*You will most likely have to be a non-rate for some time before making rank (meaning you will not have a job specialty and you will do the grunt work)

*Currently, most of the "A" school lists a long wait, so it could take longer than usual to get to school.

* A lot of people use the Coast Guard as a fall-back-on job, so there is a lot of lazy people to deal with.