Maritime Security in US Coast Guard?

[flannagain]

How hard would it be to do this? What I want to do is law enforcement. And to have it be combined with the sea is like the coolest thing in my opinion.
I'm in school right now. Doing a double major in Criminal Justice and Criminal Forensic Studies.
Anyway, I'll be out of school in around 3 years. I'd have to go to OCS for 17 weeks. Would I be able to go to the Maritime Law Enforcement Academy immediately afterwards? If not, what would I do once out of OCS?

[caomh]

You can definitely pursue a career in maritime law enforcement following OCS graduation.

No, you wouldn't go immediately to MLEA after OCS. You go to whatever your first assignment is. Attendance at MLEA is tied to your assignment. If you're in a job that requires you to be a boarding officer or other law enforcement intensive role, they'd probably try to get you to MLEA fairly quickly. If you end up in a role (like a Sector for example) where they don't need their junior officers to be their primary boarding officers, MLEA would probably come later, after you've already go whatever primary qualifications they expect you to earn.

Good luck!

[teyrnon72]

If you are an Officer, your involvement in LE/Maritime Security will be quite limited - you'll be doing more management of LE than actually stapping on a six-shooter and doing it. It's more like being a Police Lieutenant or Captain than a street cop (that's what the Enlisted folks do).

If - and this is a huge if - IF you get a billet that is in LE, then you'll probably do your job OJT for several months before you go to the MLEA. You'd be in a training status until you attend and then get qualified as a Boarding Team Member/Boarding Officer.

And all of this depends on whether or not you get selected for OCS - and the approval rate right now runs about 10% of applicants.

Good luck!