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Careers: Military--Army, Navy, Airforce, Marines, Coast Guard/coast guard
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Question
i'm currently 16 and have had a lot of problems in my life recently but i want to totally change that around now. i was told that you can join the coast guard at the age of 17. how do i go about that? do i need parental permission?
Hi Samantha,
To join any branch of the U.S. Military age the age of 17, you must have parental consent (from both parents, unless divorced and one parent has *total* custody).
Additionally, while you can enlist at the age of 17 (in the Delayed Enlistment Program), before you can ship out to basic training, you are going to have to first graduate high school (get a high school diploma). So, if you drop out of high school, your chances of joining the Coast Guard drop dramatically. While the services will accept some with GEDs, the percentages are small (less than 15 percent), and GED-holders have to score much higher on the ASVAB (the military entrance test) than high-school diploma-holders.
Finally, if your "problems" involve drug use or problems with the law, you would most likely require a waiver to join.
For more information about joining the U.S. Military, feel free to visit my military information website 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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