One service that is often overlooked is the Coast Guard.

They do a lot of pretty good work when you take the time to look at them. 

While in my line of work they are often thought of as a PITA, you have to look at the bigger picture. They do a number of fairly important things. 

They chase smugglers and do drug interdiction. They do search and rescue and enforce federal laws. All Coast Guard officers, commissioned and noncommissioned are considered to be Federal marshals of sorts. They are permitted to make arrests on the high seas.

Their boot camp at Cape May, NJ is considered to be the second toughest boot camp of the five armed services.

Like the rest of the services there is pretty much something for just about everyone to do. If you want to pick up an administrative skill they have jobs that you can train for.

Law enforcement is also a part of the Coast Guard and that can be interesting work as can pollution enforcement.

On the other hand if you want a little adventure and excitement you can strike for the small boat handling course at Cape Disappointment, Washington and you'll learn how to handle a 44 foot self-righting motor lifeboat in heavy seas.

Search and rescue can be exciting and there is a lot of satisfaction at fishing someone out of the drink.

While most of the Coast Guard live by the motto 'Semper Paratus' which means 'Always Prepared' the SAR guys live by another motto.

'Ya gotta go out but you don't have to come back in'. 

That informal motto comes from a regulation in the old Life Saving Service book. The Life Saving Service became a part of the Coast Guard many years ago and the Coasties in SAR live by it.

Anyway, I sometimes recommend the Coast Guard to young people that are looking for an alternative to the other four armed services.



To find out why the blog is pink just cut and paste this: http://piccoloshash.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-feminine-side-blog-stays-pink.html NO ANIMALS WERE HARMED IN THE WRITING OF TODAY'S ESSAY