Expert: Cynthia Bedell - 2/11/2008

Question
Hello,
It's me again.  Thank you for your answers to my previous questions.  They were very helpful.  Are coasties that are on a ship, deployed to that ship for a matter of months, or is that where they live during their duty?  I was under the impression that coasties are based domestically.  Are they ever deployed, including overseas and to other American cities?  Do coasties rotate bases similiar to the army?

Answer
Dear Anthony --

Coast Guard locations are "usually" in the United States.  Coast Guard Officers are moved around the country to different jobs and different duty locations, though not as frequently as the Army Officers are rotated.  Your duty locations can be on any of the Coasts to include Alaska, Hawaii and the Great Lakes region.

Some of your duty on the larger ships, can require you to billet on the ship, especially if you are single.  That will vary depending on the ship, the location, and the duty.

During times of war, the Coast Guard becomes a part of the Department of Defense.  Coast Guard ships and boats deploy to do shore duty in the coastal areas of the war zone as needed.  

During times of emergency the Coast Guard will deploy key ships to assist in various coastal locales.  The assigned personnel will deploy with that ship for the duration of the emergency.

I hope I addressed your concerns.  Please write back, if you have other questions.