Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 8/21/2009

Question
My son would like to join the Coast Guard.  He is 27 (as of July 2009) with a GED, no H S Diploma.  Can he obtain a waiver and how?

Answer
Sandy,
I'm glad you asked an expert, friends and family usually give bad advice on these matters.

Each of the services strictly limit the number of high school dropouts (which includes GED holders) who can enlist each year. This is because years of military enlistment statistics have shown that this category of enlistees fail to complete their entire first term of military service at about twice the rate of those with a high school diploma or those with college credits.

The Navy and the USCG both allow no more than 10% GED enlistments each year.  There are always many more GED-holders who want to enlist than there are available slots, so -- even to be considered -- a GED holder must score much higher on the ASVAB, than a high school diploma recruit.  However, if a recruit has 15 or more college credits (which is 5 classes because each class is usually worth 3 credits), he is in the exact same enlistment category as a high school diploma holder.

However, there are many factors enlisting with a GED as opposed to enlisting with a traditional High School diploma.  These are:
- He must obtain a 65 qualifying score on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude
Battery (ASVAB).
- GED applicants must wait on slots to become available, and this can sometimes mean
waiting periods of up to one year.

A waiver isn't necessary.

Fortunately his birthday is in July, because 27 is the age limit for the USCG, so he'll need to act fast.  

So here's what I recommend:  
On October 1st have him go see a USCG recruiter.  That's because all the recruiters get their new quotas for 2010 on October 1st.  He wants to be first in line so he knows for sure the recruiter hasn't possibly reached his quota yet.  Plus he wants a slot to open up before next July when he turns 28.  We want to stack the deck in his favor as much as possible.

Best wishes,
Colonel H