Just curious as to where you guys were sent after boot camp and what your experiences were. I'm down to 27 days until shipment. I KNOW! Haha. I'm pretty sure I've read every single thread on this website twice! I wish I could just go now, the wait is killing me. Thanks guys.
I was sent to a 180' buoytender homeported in Charleston, SC. It was a great ship and Charleston is a beautiful city. I learned a lot on that ship, and would recommend a buoytender as a first tour to anyone aspiring to become a BM.
January 1983, reported aboard the Chase, WHEC-718 down in Curacoa in the Caribbean. Flew down from Clearwater, FL on my 19th birthday in a USCG C-130. Back then, the homeport was Boston, MA along with the Cutter Hamilton.
Very first day underway on the Chase, we chased this boat all day. The crew tossed bail after bail of marijuana into the sea.
Originally posted by amelnik33: Wow! That's awesome. The Caribbean seems like the place to be. Can't wait to get out there, thanks for the input guys. =)
It all depends on what you want to do in the Coast Guard.
Best of luck for your future.
Oh, and before you go getting too excited, remember....with the good comes the bad;
Coast Guard Cutter Kukui (WAK-186) Honolulu, Hi. At the time she was the largest ship in the Coast Guard. She was a Coast Guard cargo ship. We supplied all the LORAN Stations in the far east, erected LORAN towers, built air strips and pretty much what ever needed doing. Kind of like the SeaBees of the Coast Guard. First west-pac was 10 and a half months long and the second was an even 11 months long. I probably got more U/W time in those first two years than most coasties get in a career. Great unit. Dave
Reported on a Tuesday to a 140' Ice Breaking Tug-Katmai Bay (WTGB 101). On Wednesday morning we started our 48 hour trip acoss Lake Superior in 15 foot seas. If anyone has been on the Great Lakes they know that 15' there is not the same as 15' in open ocean waves and a tug rides like a football in water.
I got to go to the Polar Sea. That was way worth it! All the places I got to see and all the experiences can never compair to the buoy tender I am on now. I miss ice breaking.
USCGC VIGOROUS WMEC-627 that is right in Cape May NJ. From boot camp I walked to my unit all of about 1000 ft. Got underway 2 days later for a 45 day patrol in the north then 15 days in TACT out of little creek, Va. Good and bad times
CGC Taney. Immediately learned all about spending a month at a time on Ocean Station November. The I went to the CGC Dexter, followed by the CGC Barataria, the CGC Chautauqua, CGC Mellon, CGC Planetree and CGC Blackhaw. Only break from sea duty was the 18 weeks in GM School.
CGC Monomoy, Woods Hole, Ma (at the time) small crew = High expectations, As an SA you could become coxswain qualified on the 17'CBM, QMOW, and BTM, you will be busy on one of these. Fin stabilizers dont work, ride is ineresting, South Patrol's on one of these shoeboxes was interesting but very fun. There are going to be goods and bads with any unit you go to. Just learn, qualify and make the best of it!
Plankowner on WMEC 39 the Bulldog of the Bering. sailed her around from Baltimore to Kodiak. 4 hurricanes, the panama canal, and 1 really great crew. good times.
My first assignment from Boot Camp was CGC Hammerhead 87302. It was an amazing billet for a SN. You have a lot of responsibility as a non-rate, but if you want to be a BM it is a great place to start! That is just my humble opinion
I went to boot camp knowing I wanted to be a BM. So, I "asked the Chief" during seamanship training and he said go to a buoy tender. I picked the CGC MADRONA out of Charleston SC and it by far was my best tour as a BM. An AtoN boat is the way to go if you want to strike Boatswain mate, in my opinion.
