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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/Lateral over
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Question
Rod I have a question for you. I really want to join the Coast Guard (I'm first term Airmen right now at my first PCS) but really want to "lateral over" into the Coast Guard. Is this possible and if so how could I get it started.
Thanks
Amy
Hi Amy,
I'm afraid you can't simply "switch" from one active duty branch to another. In order to join the active duty Coast Guard, you would first have to complete your Air Force enlistment, be discharged with an "honorable" discharge at the end of your term of service, and then apply to join the Coast Guard, through a Coast Guard recruiter, as a "prior service" applicant. This is not always as easy as one might think (for further details, see my article at: http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/priorservice.htm).
There is one acception to this..... Because the active duty Air Force and active duty Navy are currently "overmanned," and the active duty Army is currently "undermanned," there is a special (temporary) program going on right now, called "Operation Blue to Green," which allows active duty Air Force and Navy members, serving in jobs which are considered "overmanned," to receive an early discharge for the purpose of re-enlisting in the active duty Army. For details see: http://www.goarmy.com/btg/index.jsp
Other than this program, I'm afraid you're out of luck. You cannot "lateral over" or "transfer to the Coast Guard, Navy, or Marine Corps. You would have to first complete your enlistment, and then apply to join one of these branches as a "prior service enlistee," after your Air Force discharge was complete.
For more information about the United States Military, feel free to visit my U.S. Military Information Site at: http://usmilitary.about.com Hope this helps!
Rod Powers
http://usmilitary.about.com
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Answers by Expert:
Rod Powers
Expertise
Rod Powers is considered one of the premire experts about U.S. Military career information on the planet. He has more than 30,000 articles about U.S. Military career information on the About.com U.S. Military Careers Information website at: http://usmilitary.about.com. Additionally, he is the author of "ASVAB for Dummies," "ASVAB AFQT for Dummies," (available in Dec 2009), and "Veteran Benefits for Dummies," all published by Wiley Publishing. He is also the author of "Barrons' Guide to Officer Candidate School Tests," published by Barron's Educational Series.
Experience
Rod Powers is a retired Air Force first sergeant, with 23 years of active duty service, 11 of those years as an Air Force First Sergeant. He has helped thousands of military members, recruits, and military applicants since he took over the About.com U.S Military Careers Information site in 1999. He has a reputation for "telling it like it is," so questions may not be answered based on "what you want to hear," but will be answered based of the bast available information, concerning the service/situation.
Education/Credentials
Rod is a distinguished graduate of the Air Force Noncommissioned Officers Academy, the Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, and the Air Force First Sergeant Academy. He also holds an Associates Degree in Personnel Administration from the Community College of the Air Force (CCAF).
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