|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
Go
|
New
|
Find
|
Notify
|
Tools
|
Reply
|
|
|
New Member |
Hi all
I have a question that has been on my mind a while. Simply stated do officers in the CG conduct as much LE as enlisted? I ask this becuase I want to get into LE with the USCG. I feel that going enlisted will be my best chance even though I qualify for OCS. I like to get my hands dirty and want to work. So I am curious if and how often officers get involved in LE. Do they board vessels? How involved are they in DOG? and so on. thanks for the advice and help Shawn |
||
|
CG Forums Moderator |
Yes, but there are differences. As a junior officer, you will actively participate in LE evolutions as a boarding team member and / or boarding officer. Generally, once an officer promotes to the rank of LT, they are no longer in the acive roles. I'm sure there may be exceptions out there, but that is from my own observations.
On the enlisted side there are greater chances of being able to actively participate in the LE evolutions for a whole career, especially with the in-progress development of the Maritime Enforcement (ME) rating. As far as how many officers get in volved in LE, I don't have numbers or anything, but I've seen the Ensigns and Leiutenant Junior Grades on cutters and shore units doing LE. At the DOG units, as far as actively involved, it works out to be about the same. Once you make LT, you are in a supervisory and planning role more than you would be in the Boarding Team Member / Boarding Officer role. PO1 Kevin Couture |
|||
|
Member |
That depends on what your definition of "LE" is. If you're talking about wearing a gun belt, doing boardings in the field, then what PO Couture said above is correct.
However, the Coast Guard has a wide range of law enforcement missions and authority-- everything from ensuring foreign vessels are in compliance with international conventions and US laws when they come in (through our Marine Inspector program), to investigating marine accidents and casualties (Marine Investigations) and completing criminal cases with the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS) and US Attorneys Office for violations of federal environmental laws (our Marine Environmental Protection). Officers play a key role in all of those missions. Doing maritime law enforcement missions (i.e. counter-drug, counter-terrorism, counter-alien) missions is a lot of fun, important to the country, and at times very dangerous, but the Coast Guard has a lot more law enforcement authority than just that. |
|||
|
|
New Member |
Thank you I understand your answers. I will most likely lean towards enlisted, maybe grow a little older and try for OCS.
|
|||
|
Member |
smart move. As an LT who still clings to his gun belt, the oportunities to get my boots wet are quickly disappearing. Chris Ogle above gave a great description of how CG Officers contribute to other forms of LE, but in my humble opinion, it's not the kind of stuff that drives my adrenaline. My first five years were great (DALLAS, PAC TACLET). Definate slow down at LT. Good luck to ya!
|
|||
|
|
Member |
Mine either, Charlie, but then again, most 'law enforcement' in a regulatory sense like the Coast Guard does isn't like you see on COPS. Just figured I'd give him the full picture & let him make an informed decision.
 |
|||
|
|
Member |
absolutely, not slamming your discussion at all, or for that matter, the M side of the house. They do important work, which I just happen to find to be an effective cure for insomnia...zzzzzz.....
 |
|||
|
|
New Member |
|
|||
|
|
CG Forums Moderator Are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?  |
You can always wait until you make E-6 and throw you hat in the ring for CGIS.
Two years into the program, you can submit your packet for CWO(INV). Just another LE/Officer option. |
|||
|
|
New Member |
I actually have thought about CGIS, but what is CWO(INV)?
|
|||
|
|
Experienced Member |
Back in the old MSO days, I always thought the investigation officers (who were always O-2/3) would be a pretty cool job. Don't know who fills that role in the Sector billeting these days.
|
|||
|
Experienced Member |
CWO(INV) is an experienced CGIS Agent who has asked too and been accepted as a permanent member of CGIS. (basicaly) |
|||
|
|
Member |
There are two types of CGIS agents: civilians and military. The military members have to be in at least paygrade E-6. Once done with their initial law enforcement training (the Criminal Investigator course at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center), the military members are made CGIS agents, with the expectation that they'll apply to become (and get selected for) Warrant Officer. CWO stands for Chief Warrant Officer, and the "INV" is the Investigator specialty. So a CWO(INV) is a Chief Warrant Officer (Investigator)-- an active duty/reserve military CGIS agent. Civilian agents are also federal agents with the same power as their military counterparts...they're just paid on a different scale. |
|||
|
|
Experienced Member |
Mr Ogle;
Not sure why you choose to copy my post to give that explination. That said, how do you support your assertion that a first tour agent is EXPECTED to apply for CWO and that they are EXPECTED to get selected? |
|||
|
|
Member |
Just wanted to make sure the OP didn't get confused about the possibility of walking in to a CWO(INV) position right off the street. I may have made it more complicated than it needed to be.
As far as my assertion, military CGIS agent positions have been shifted to CWO positions, haven't they? |
|||
|
|
Experienced Member |
I'll do some poking around. My current perception is that the expectation to go INV is at the second tour time frame, where you lock yourself in for a career, and more or less lock yourself out of going back in rating.
|
|||
|
|
New Member |
Why does the USCG not use Warrent officer rankings from W1 to W5? Does the CG use WO for other ratings besides CGIS? How difficult is it to get selected for CGIS?
What is the CGIS job like? Just like NCIS (tv)? joking |
|||
|
|
CG Forums Moderator Are you going to pull those pistols or whistle Dixie? |
The USCG does not have WO1 or CW5. The Warrant officer Specialties are not just for CGIS, but for all other jobs throughout the USCG (your enlisted rating filters up to a specific CWO specialty, i.e. a BM1/BMC/BMCS/BMCM would become a CWO(BOSN), and so forth). CGIS is different from NCIS, as we have no Posse Comitatus resrictions place on us. We investigate both military members (under the UCMJ) and civilians (under the US Code). E-mail me at jerryg@military.com for more questions and/or answers. |
|||
|
|
New Member |
how difficult is it to be accepted into LE? do you have to attend an A-school? also, usually how long does it take to become a Lt? i want to go into Le, but i am having a difficult time deciding between ocs and just enlisting, and i want to get as much training as possible.
|
|||
|
|
Member |
Heather-
It's difficult to address your questions as you seem to be confused about some fundamental aspects of the Coast Guard. To learn more, I recommend that you check the Coast Guard's recruiting web site. That site will have many of the answers to your questions. Additionally, check out the "Recruiting" forums on military.com. Again, many of the answers you're looking for will be found on there. You can also ask questions of bona fide Coast Guard (and DOD) recruiters. Good luck. LT O |
|||
|
| Powered by Eve Community |
 | Please Wait. Your request is being processed... |
|
