Coast To Coasties

In this episode of the Coast To Coasties podcast, I sit down with Aviation Survivalist Technician (AST3) Max Gardiner to discuss the daily work life of a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer. While day-day work life will change greatly depending on where an individual is stationed, Max provides great insight on what his job entails to ensure he stays both proficient and ready to execute the Coast Guard mission of being a Rescue Swimmer. He shares schooling and opportunities ASTs have to improve on their rescue capabilities and train in many diverse settings a swimmer could potentially encounter while on the job in numerous sea state and inland river and land environmental conditions. If you enjoyed part 1 with Max you are guaranteed to enjoy part 2 just as much, tune in and listen to the exciting story of daily work life of a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer!

So you want to become a Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer? The pathway to becoming an Aviation Survivalist Technician (AST) is a journey with many challenges to overcome in accomplishing this objective. The Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer/AST rate is one of the most highly sought after career paths / adventures the U.S Coast Guard offers. Many people seek to join the Coast Guard specifically to do this mission as it is one of the most adventurous jobs in the organization with a direct impact on saving lives. In this episode of the Coast To Coasties Podcast, I sit down with my longtime friend and bootcamp shipmate AST3 Max Gardiner as we discuss in this 2 part episode, how his journey began and how he got to where he is today. In the first episode we cover how Max discovered the Coast Guard and what motivated him to pursue a career as a Rescue Swimmer. We walk through his preparation for AST A-school and his time as a non-rate. For anyone who wants to learn more about Aviation rates or may have interest in becoming an Aviation Survivalist Technician, tune into this episode and listen to Max share how he prepared for this amazing adventure!

In this episode of the Coast To Coasties I sit down with LTJG Bryan Casado and discuss his journey from U.S Navy Corpsman to U.S Coast Guard Officer Candidate School (OCS) graduate. We break down what life was like serving in the Navy and alongside Marines and what led to Casado's eventual transition to the Coast Guard. From there we have an in depth discussion on the process Casado went through to apply/prepare for Officer Candidate School along with tips and tricks he gives to help new applicants navigate the process. Officer Candidate school is the largest Officer Accession source for prior enlisted military members and many people want to take advantage of making the transition from enlisted to officer along with many talented civilian college graduates and CSPI members also looking to become Coast Guard Officer's so due to its popularity this was a must release episode from one of my good friends with a lot of experience and we are so excited to share our insight on this huge topic so please tune in and enjoy if you have any future interests in going to Coast Guard OCS!

In this highly requested episode of the Coast To Coasties podcast, I sit down with LTJG Bryan Casado to discuss navigating military service life together with a family. Many extra considerations have to be taken into account for a member when the decisions affect their life as well as the lives of their spouse and children. We have a fantastic discussion breaking down the additional challenges Coasties with families face with respect to potential jobs balancing your home/family life with the demands of the mission while always prioritizing family 1st. This episode was a fantastic discussion and a must listen to for anyone considering joining the Coast Guard who has additional family members to think about and weigh their decision with as we go over support functions and resources the Coast Guard provides to families to assist members households through the times when the mission demands additional time from it's people serving while also taking care of our loved ones. Please enjoy and reach out to me with any additional questions you have.

In this episode of the Coast To Coasties Podcast, I continue my 2 part discussion with MST1 Gavin Kline about the newest Warrant Officer pathway in the U.S Coast Guard. The intention of the program is to give members in certain enlisted rates earlier opportunity in their career timeline to become Warrant Officers which benefits both the enlisted member with increased pay and responsibilities and benefits the Coast Guard by retaining their skilled specialists they have invested into more years than the old traditional Warrant Officer path. For members who join the Coast Guard as enlisted and prospect to one day become a Warrant Officer in the Marine Inspections field, this episode is a great listen to start planning and making the necessary steps early in your career to building a competitive package in your future. Note* the EMITP program covers Warrant paths to Marine Inspections not all encompassing of every Warrant program. Please enjoy and reach out to me if you have any questions or additional feedback!

In this episode of the Coast To Coasties Podcast, I sit down with MST1 Gavin Kline and discuss the highly requested episode of what the job of being a Marine Inspector involves. Marine Inspections is a highly sought after career to get into for the Coast Guard because of the plentiful career opportunities after the Coast Guard and for the amazing work-life balance the job provides while in the Coast Guard. We list the pathways to become a marine inspector and what we do in the day to day life of an inspector. While there are a lot of technical terms in this field we break down the job into an easily understandable language so everyone can understand and make a mental picture of what we do out in the field. This is an amazing job that is highly competitive to get into however, once you gain the skillsets inspectors develop, you will be highly marketable in the maritime field the rest of your life, so I highly recommend anyone looking to make themselves marketable or interested in making the Coast Guard a career, listen to this episode and check out why we love working as Marine Inspectors! Thank you!

By special request, in this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, I do a deep dive on my Coast Guard Career so far and share my personal journey through the United States Coast Guard. I discuss my influences growing up that led to me joining the Coast Guard and milestone influences that have shaped my career to this point. Many listeners have requested I do a comprehensive episode of myself so you all can learn more about me as the host of the show delivering the content to everyone. I was honored to receive so many of these requests and am ecstatic to share with you all my story. I go into depth on my influences growing up, why I decided to enlist, and what fueled my motivation to get to the point I am at now in my career. I have personal bias giving an opinion on this episode but I think it's a great one to listen to and I hope to inspire some listeners by telling my adventure. Please reach out with any questions you have for me!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" podcast, I have the privilege of sitting down with my guest, Chief Petty Officer Vicent Bucaneg, to talk about his Coast Guard career and why he loves working as a company commander for recruit bootcamp at Training Center Cape May! He has such a passion for what he considers to be the most fulfilling job in the Coast Guard, as it gives you the ability to make an impact from day 1 of a new Coastie's career and equip them with the tools needed to flourish and be successful once they leave training and head into the fleet. Chief Bucaneg's love for this mission is so great that he is preparing to return to Training Center Cape May as a Company Commander for a second tour this upcoming Summer and he is here to share his thoughts and experiences as to why others should also come back to Cape May as a Company Commander (CC)! We discuss CC School, Work Schedule, Job Benefits, and the impact you get to physically see in shaping our future Coast Guard in our newest seamen recruits! He also gives advice for people preparing to ship out to Cape May, so anyone heading to bootcamp in the future or considering coming back to Cape May as a CC, Tune in to this awesome episode!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" podcast I go in depth on the Olmsted Scholarship Program which is a graduate school program enhanced with language learning opportunities that Coast Guard Officer's can apply to take part in. Founded in 1959 this super selective program involves one year of intense language learning followed by two years at graduate school university in the selected country the committee deems most needed for the scholar. The selected scholar is able to pick a university within that city based on the graduate degree they want to pursue. This immersive program is a very cool opportunity to get paid to learn a language and earn a graduate degree while getting paid by the Coast Guard to benefit the mission in the future. Language learning enthusiasts and graduate school pursuers, tune in this episode is for you!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, I sit down with retired Coast Guard Pilot, Aaron Sanders, to have a discussion about the VA Loan. The VA Loan is an attractive 0$ down payment loan that enables Coast Guard and other military members active, reserve, and veteran to compete for housing they otherwise would be unable to afford in competitive real estate markets Coasties often get transferred to. Aaron and I discuss how the VA Loan works to obtain and what types of properties qualify for utilizing this attractive home loan. For anyone interested in renting some housing out for income good news, you can use the VA Loan to purchase up to a Quad Plex 4 housing unit! I recommend everyone listen to this episode as we often get stationed in lucrative housing markets that are always worth considering buying a home in, and the VA Loan enables us as Coasties to do this!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, we dive into 2024 with an exciting episode featuring one of the smallest rates in the Coast Guard, highlighting the Diver (DV) Rate with only about 70 active duty divers in the entire U.S Coast Guard. I sit down with (DV1) Diver first class Andy Murillo who walks us through his day to day life as a diver as well as a detailed discussion on the process it takes to become a diver in the Coast Guard regarding career timeline and physical requirements. We also cover the extensive travelling to all the cool places the dive rate has enabled Andy to travel in during his career and his personal advice for those interested in pursuing a career as a diver. This rate was super awesome to get to learn about from Andy and I strongly encourage everyone interested in learning about what our Coast Guard divers do check out this episode.

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" podcast, I discuss the programs available to active duty and reservist members that we can utilize in pursuing a bachelors or masters degree while serving in the U.S Coast Guard. I cover various opportunities available for both enlisted and officers including the "Post 9/11 GI Bill", and the "Tuition Assistance Program", as well as the "Coast Guard Graduate School" program for officers. Education is a huge benefit to being apart of the service and I feel it's important that we all utilize these avenues when the timing is right for us, so I am thrilled to be able to share my personal knowledges and experiences with learning about these paths that lead to earning degrees while serving in the Coast Guard so you can maximize the provided benefits. I recommend everyone listen to this episode to gain a better personal understanding on these programs, or to be able to share to someone who you believe can benefit from listening. Thank you!

In this episode of the Coast to Coasties Podcast, I sit down with my guest who is my mother, Jeannie Giacomuzzi and ask her for advice and tips she can give to other parents who are currently or soon to be embarking on the journey of having their child serve in the United States Coast Guard. We discuss great ways to support your children in the Coast Guard whether that be facetiming, care packages, or special vacations to help make your loved one's new career transition go as smoothly as possible with the support of their loved ones helping in some unique and creative ways along the way. This episode is definitely a great one to listen to for any parent looking to understand and figure out how they can best support their Coastie loved ones partaking in the amazing world of the U.S Coast Guard!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, I go in depth on a comprehensive discussion of places and regions you could potentially get stationed in the United States Coast Guard. Often times one of the first questions that's going to come up on deciding whether you want to the join the Coast Guard or pick a particular rate is "Where could I potentially get stationed in the Coast Guard?" This is a common thing to ask as you will be spending years of your life somewhere the service assigns you too. For a service such as the Coast Guard where we have a lot of smaller units in more civilian community based areas, it is especially confusing at first to figure out just everywhere we could potentially go! That's why we cover in this episode areas by district and geographic region in and outside our country the Coast Guard could send you. This is an episode you do not want to miss!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, I'm sitting down with my good friend Reservist Chief Boatswain Mate, Michael Gould, on our travel back from a high school community outreach event where we talk about the unique camaraderie gained in the military service as well as the importance of community awareness and outreach about what the Coast Guard is, and what we do as an organization. Chief Gould has had a career spanning from the Navy, Army National Guard, Several Fortune 500 Companies, and finally ended up in the Coast Guard where he and I share a passion to inform communities how awesome of a career we have and to give people an opportunity to learn about a paths they may have not known existed to them prior to meeting us. I am thrilled to have an hour to discuss these topics and much more on this exciting episode! I encourage everyone listening to get out in their communities and help make people aware of the Coast Guard and all the cool stuff we do in our very unique work lifestyles!

New Episode! Thank you all for your patience and reaching out for when season 2 would officially launch and it is now! In the long anticipated return of the Coast to Coasties Podcast, I talk about my experience of becoming a Direct Commission Officer from application process to reporting at my unit and attending the Direct Commission Officer school at the Coast Guard Academy and we get into deep detail on what exactly the DCO program is. As being a very unknown program to a lot of Coasties and civilians, it is a great topic to cover as it is an amazing opportunity to apply and become a direct hire officer at a time where the Coast Guard is in great need to hire a lot more officers in the next few years. Direct Commission is a direct hire program looking for niche specialists in their field where if you’re accepted, you put on bars and start working as an officer in your specialty field your skills got you hired for and start performing as an officer in the Coast Guard instantly before even attending DCO school! Check it out to see if you’d be interested and if DCO is the right path for your career progression!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, I sit down with Senior Chief Thompson who is a Coast Guard Reservist on Active Duty Orders with the Portland Maine recruiting office. We discuss everything going into being a reservist in the Coast Guard including all the benefits and opportunities reservists can take advantage of and how they can balance their Coast Guard time with their civilian career time no matter what field your civilian career is in. The process of going through your career as a reservist is very different from active duty and that is why it is great to have Senior Chief come on and tell how his career as a Marine Science Technician has differed from what an active duty career would look like, and how serving in the Coast Guard and a member of the local Fire Department has benefited the integration of both careers with the transferable knowledge and resources the reserves has provided him. For anyone interested in joining the Coast Guard Reserve or going from Active to Reserve, tune into this episode to get all the information from Senior Chief Thompson!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" Podcast, we continue to build upon our previous episode highlighting the Marine Science Technician Rate, and take a further in depth look at the pollution and response side of the job. Our guest today, MST1 Justin Basham, has been a Marine Science Technician in the Coast Guard for 12 years with a majority of his career and interests focused on the pollution response side of the rate. We discuss the various positions and job opportunities you could potentially find yourself in while working in a pollution shop, as well as the roles, responsibilities, and authorities an MST has on a pollution case at various stages of your career. If you are interested in pollution response and environmental protection this is a great episode to turn into to further your knowledge on the life of an MST assigned to a pollution shop billet in the Coast Guard!

To Scrub...Or Not To Scrub...In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties" podcast I sit down with MST-A School, school house chief Senior Chief Kristin Gray and School Instructor MST1 Lewis Register as we cover a high demand topic the listeners have been asking for. The work life of a Marine Science Technician in the Coast Guard. This rate is one of the most encompassing rates with a dual purpose of prevention and response. We discuss the varies jobs you will work in as an MST if you are interested in the rate as well as career advice and opportunities that can come about by taking advantage of all the potential the rate has to offer. In addition we cover how well sought after MSTs become after transitioning from Coast Guard to the Civilian world. This episode features 2 of the best Marine Science Technicians in the Coast Guard so if you have any interest or curiosity in the rate, this is an episode you have to tune in for!

In this episode of the "Coast To Coasties Podcast", I sit down with Carl Boehmer and Tyler Mleczko who both run the Coast Guard Mentorship Program. This program was created as a way for current Coasties serving in Active, Reservist, Auxiliary, and Civilian capacities to have the ability to network and connect with one another from any time and any place in a mentor mentee relationship with the goal of furthering both personal and career development. Carl and Tyler walk me through the history of why the program was founded and the important role it has today as it continues its rapid growth in the Coast Guard today. This program is pioneering the way for Coasties to connect with one another and I highly encourage everyone to become apart of it as it gives you both the chance to learn valuable knowledge from other Coast Guard members and pass on valuable knowledge to other Coast Guard members!