Can an officer in the Coast Guard attend the Maritime Law Enforcement Academy?

[muireach]

Or is this only for enlisted men and women of the Coast Guard?
My main goal is to do law enforcement. However, if I can serve in the military and do what I love, then I'll be as happy as ever.
I am going to college though. Would this affect what I want to do in the Coast Guard?

[scirwode]

The Coast Guard is unique in the military branches in that Federal Law Enforcement is one of our stated missions. So you can be in the military and do Federal LE at the same time!

An officer can attend Maritime Law Enforcement Academy and subsequently become a US Coast Guard Boarding Officer.

Remember Boarding Officer is a qualification. Any US Coast Guard Officer, Warrant Officer or Petty Officer can become a BO. (assuming they are in the billet(job) that does LE)

Now becoming a Boarding Officer as a Commissioned Officer is meant for those Officers serving in a billet where they will oversea or participate in a unit that performs Law Enforcement.

Examples of those units would be SECTORS, Marine Safety Detachments, MSSTs, Small Boat Stations and Cutters.

The tradional progression would be you get your commission, you join a unit that does LE. You first become a Boarding Team Member. In order to become a BTM you either go to BTM school or receive on the job training from a Boarding Officer with the OPSHL qual code. BTMs assist the Boarding Officer on boardings and get their authority from the BO.

After BTM, then you go to Maritime LE Academy at FLETC (Federal Law Enforcement Training Academy) in Charleston SC. Afterward you go to your unit to fo a few "break-in" Boardings under observation from one of your units BOs and then you sit a board. If you pass the board the unit's CO signs a letter designating you to be a USCG Boarding Officer.

Now remember if you're an officer you will likely be the one overseeing, managing or something along the lines of the management side of the unit's LE program. You could be arranging training, you could be planning boarding operations etc. As you progress up the ranks you will get less involved in the actual boardings but more involved with the planning, controlling and organizing side.

Its a blast and alot of rewarding hard work.

_____

Part 2 College:

You need to be a college graduate in order to be a commissioned officer (well there are other ways, but I wont go there :-) ). However you can enlist the Coast Guard Reserves if you are in college.

[scirwode]

uscgofficer's answer is a good one, although I want to add some perspective regarding "who and when".

Regarding opportunities to attend MLEA, BO School or other law enforcement training, absolutely.

Without exception, all junior deck watch officers (O-1 and O-2) onboard cutters are also expected to be qualified as law enforcement boarding officers. The "opportunity" is more of an expectation. At Sectors, it's a different kind of law enforcement (less sexy - generally enforcing pollution, vessel and maritime safety laws vice smuggling, fisheries, drug or migrant interdiction typical to cutters), but same comments apply.

As officers become more senior, starting at O-3 and certainly beyond that - the opportunities for direct participation in the operational side of law enforcement start to taper off. You graduate more into planning and management. This starts to happen at around 5 years in, and is near complete by 10 years in.

The idea that you "graduate" from the direct performance of the LE mission is generally true on the enlisted side as well, although the "hands on" phase lasts a little longer, through about E-6 or so.

There are some exceptions to this in some dedicated law enforcement positions where the "hands on" opportunities persist a bit longer, but in general, the more senior you become, the less hands-on you become.

But yes, at junior levels, most everyone, officer and enlisted, is involved with the hands-on performance of the CG's law enforcement missions.

[jan46]

Or is this only for enlisted men and women of the Coast Guard?
My main goal is to do law enforcement. However, if I can serve in the military and do what I love, then I'll be as happy as ever.
I am going to college though. Would this affect what I want to do in the Coast Guard?