Hello

So I have been qualified and ready to join the Coast Guard Reserves. I have been researching MSST and PSU units----which of these is going to provide the most exciting work for a Reservist? The main motivation for joining is to serve and for excitement. I see all the cool videos online of MSST guys fast roping from helicopters, driving fast boats, wearing swat team like gear (which I like)..but heard as a Reservist I would not get to do most of this and was told to consider a PSU instead. The PSU was not as appealing from the information I found (mostly online and chatting with one person) and it appeared to look like really boring all day watch duty...is this on point or way off? If anyone has any insight it would be helpful. I would love to hear pros and cons of both.

Thanks,
Matrix

actually I was wondering the same thing if anybody has any good information.

Thanks for the info guys, I am almost through my paperwork and will be making my rate decision soon!

http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/720196122/m/9740007180001

--M

It's probably true that you wouldn't get to do a lot of that as a reservist. The training is long and costly, and because of that, it is most likely set aside for active duty. I am at MSST Kings Bay, and we don't even have reservists. The PSUs don't do the fast roping, but they still have a very cool mission. All units have their boring parts. Try not to judge based on a video or two, since the whole point of those videos is to show you only the "coolest" parts of those jobs. Obviously, if we showed all the boring or monotonous parts, you wouldn't be interested. Have your recruiter put you in touch with a reservist or two at each unit to see what THAT particular unit does on a daily basis. This should help you with your decision.

Kevin Couture, SK1

I think the only reservist at MSST's are the EAD's(Extended Active Duty- mostly PS rate)reservists. Most have done away with reserves.

thank you for your information