Just out of curiosity for any active or former members, where are your favorite bases to get stationed at?

My favorite city to be stationed in so far has been Charleston, SC.

I enjoyed all but one place: Cape Cod. The unit was great but the area sucked after labor day. Everything shut down. In the summer you have to deal with tourists and horrible traffic.

My favorite unit has been Milwaukee. I had a blast being there. The winters are freaking brutal but I made some great friends outside of the CG.

Another little gem was Portsmouth, NH. If you love anything outdoors, this little town is great plus it had a surprisingly good social scene (i.e., good bars and pretty girls).

Spent a year in Seattle on the Polar Sea. Seattle was a great town, although I was at sea for most of that year!

It really depends a great deal on your interests. many love Alaska. I never wanted to go near the place. On the other hand, as soon as a billet on a 180 opened up in the Phillipines I was all over it. Same thing when I had a chance to go to Nam on a 378.

I had a question... are you able to talk about the work you do? Like, if I wanted to tell my friends and family about my adventures in the coast guard, would I have to worry about getting in trouble for that?

Ex_CG_GM: I'm in the process of enlisting and this thread is covering one of the questions I have about the travel involved with the Coast Guard. I am planning on trying to get stationed on a cutter because I have heard that is where you get to see and travel the most and experience the most, which is what I want.
I am asking you because of what you mentioned: "as soon as a billet on a 180 opened up...I was all over it."

If I'm hearing you correctly, slots just open up on different ships and you are able to transfer over to a different location whenever you want?
How often can you do this? Meaning, if you are assigned to a cutter "here/destination X," how long do you have to stay before you can ask to be moved--and not just because you don't like it anymore, rather you/I want to travel. Is this realistic? I'm not viewing the Coast Guard as some sort of luxury cruise, but travelling and learning as much as I can is something I want to do a lot of. I'm just wondering what really happens.

I appreciate your help and any advice you can offer. Thanks.

quote:

had a question... are you able to talk about the work you do? Like, if I wanted to tell my friends and family about my adventures in the coast guard, would I have to worry about getting in trouble for that?

Then answer is generally, yes ... we have some OPSEC issues, depending on your unit. What's of more concern ... they're not gonna believe them. Nobody, but nobody, except other Coasties understands that we have everyday jobs dealing with things, environments and people that want to kill you.

I have a whole spiel on measuring the "greatness" of every man. Without getting long-winded, I find that the Coast Guard will help you find your own "greatness"; and you will forever measure that part of life as being worthy ...

quote:

Ex_CG_GM: I'm in the process of enlisting and this thread is covering one of the questions I have about the travel involved with the Coast Guard. I am planning on trying to get stationed on a cutter because I have heard that is where you get to see and travel the most and experience the most, which is what I want.
I am asking you because of what you mentioned: "as soon as a billet on a 180 opened up...I was all over it."

My information is 30+ years out of date so hopefully someone else can give you some insight into how it works today. In my case, in that instance, the billet that opened on the 180 in the Phillipines was posted in a message looking for a volunteer. I think that was probably because it was in the Phillipines.

There were a couple things that played a part in my getting that unit; things that were a bit out of the norm even back then.

Again, somoene currently serving can no doubt explain how things work today.

quote:

Originally posted by 10353297:
If I'm hearing you correctly, slots just open up on different ships and you are able to transfer over to a different location whenever you want?
How often can you do this? Meaning, if you are assigned to a cutter "here/destination X," how long do you have to stay before you can ask to be moved--and not just because you don't like it anymore, rather you/I want to travel. Is this realistic? I'm not viewing the Coast Guard as some sort of luxury cruise, but travelling and learning as much as I can is something I want to do a lot of. I'm just wondering what really happens.

I appreciate your help and any advice you can offer. Thanks.

No, that is not correct. You serve the needs of the Coast Guard. That means while you can ask for an assignment anywhere you would like. You go where the Coast Guard needs you. There are times when a critical billet must be filled and it happens to be somewhere you would like to go, but it is not often, and there is no guarantee that your command or the Coast Guard will let you go.

You can also ask for a mutual exchange of station after six months if you find someone that will change jobs with you, however, your command still has to approve it (theirs too).

Tours on cutters range from two to three years (sometimes longer, depending on when you get there). Most shore tours are four years. Needs of the service comes first, so you can stay longer or shorter depending on service need. Some cutters travel the world, some never leave sight of land. No one can promise you anything as far as travel is concerned.

Join the Coast Guard because you want to be part of the Coast Guard not because you want to be stationed a certain place, or serve on a certain type of unit.

The three best places ever, in order:

1. Where you have been
2. Where you are going to next
3. Where you are at

quote:

Originally posted by Mightyz90_93:
The three best places ever, in order:

1. Where you have been
2. Where you are going to next
3. Where you are at

Don't forget the unit you always asked for but never got. It's always number 1 until you get there, then the above list kicks in.

damn, I stand corrected!