Before they can live by the motto “Semper Paratus” ? Latin for “Always Ready” ? members of the U.S. Coast Guard must prove it.
“We?re looking for people who have good character, good physical aptitude and who are eager to serve their country,” said Capt. Steve Vanderplas, Coast Guard recruiting command officer.
“We can teach them how to swim at boot camp.”
During an eight-week session, the Coast Guard?s training center in Cape May, N.J., molds 50 to 60 recruits into “Coasties” through rigorous courses in first aid, firefighting, weapons handling and practical seamanship.
Along with developing mental acuteness, Coasties are physically pushed to the extremes they will face in search-and-rescue missions.
Daily physical fitness and water survival classes prepare them for graduation, which can require treading water for five minutes and jumping off a 5-foot platform and swimming 100 yards, said Petty Officer 1st Class Anthony Strosnider, who walked into a recruitment office in Glen Burnie 10 years ago looking for focus in his life.
“There?s a saying in the Coast Guard, ?Choose your fate,? ” Strosnider said. He chose to be an officer.
Many young adults turn to the Coast Guard for its combination of good academics and military service, he said. Recruitment is continuous with a heavy influx in the spring.
High school graduates can enter into four years at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Conn.
The cadets earn a modest paycheck and get their education free.
From there, they can take several program paths to becoming an officer, including 17 weeks at Officer Candidate School.
This is a slightly different training regimen than boot camp for enlisted members, said Chief of Officer Programs Greg Carter.
The Coast Guard is celebrating a recent highlight ? its average score on the Armed Forces Qualities Test rose by 66.8 percent. “Higher than any of the other services,” Vanderplas said.
