Well I made the plunge and took my name off the HS A-school list (health services) and put it on the BM A-school list (boatswain's mate). I did this because I would be waiting to go to school for another two years at the very least. I expect I will get orders to report to the BM A-school within this year. The classes are large and move fast. I am happy with this decision, just a bit angry with myself that I didn't do it sooner.
The HS branch of the Coast Guard is changing the amount of active medical work that they do. A lot of it is being turned over to the Navy side or to civilian practices. The HS rate is slowly being reduced to filing paperwork, alphabetizing medical records, giving out shots, Band-Aids, and mild pain reliever. I have more potential than that.
As a BM I will probably gain a lot of sea time out on cutters and such. I do not look forward to this because it means being away from Wesley for possible months at a time. But we have an incredibly strong relationship and I know we will do fine. It will mean that I can get out and travel around a bit, not as much as one might in the Navy or Air Force, but those services are not appealing...
I do still want to pursue my goals in the medical field in College. I want to get into sports medicine and physical therapy. I hope to achieve this slowly over time with the Coast Guard tuitions assistant program. I will still have my Montgomery GI bill too.
Here is some information about the school I will be attending:
Boatswains Mate "A" School
The most versatile member of the Coast Guard's operational team is the Boatswain's Mate (BM). Boatswain's Mates are masters of seamanship, and are capable of performing almost any task in connection with deck maintenance, small boat operations, navigation, and supervising all personnel assigned to a ship's work force or small boat station.
Training for Boatswain's Mate is accomplished through 12-weeks of intensive training at BM “A” School located at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown, VA. Here students are exposed to all facets of the Boatswain’s Mate rating, from tying knots to navigating.
Course Outline
Week 1 The first week starts off with indoctrination to base and school policies and procedures. Class work will consist of leadership training, basic fire fighting, buoyage systems and chart symbols, and donning and doffing personal protective equipment.
Week 2 Basic knot tying, line splicing , seize and whip line, how to stand a lookout watch, duties of a helmsman, identify locations and positions on a vessel, boat characteristics-features, watertight integrity, stability and communications.
Week 3 Basic navigation, plotting latitude and longitude, conversions, plotting labs, and 16 hours of team coordination training (TCT).
Week 4 Underway small boat training on 41’ Utility Boats.
Week 5 Navigation rules (NavRules).
Week 6 Advanced navigation to include; plotting latitude and longitude, constructing of track lines, plot labeling, calculating, time, speed and distance, basic chart prep, set and drift, plotting visual and radar fixes, LORAN C, prepare harbor and open ocean charts, boat and ship anchoring, demonstrate taking a boat in tow, manual deployment and boarding procedures for a survival raft, perform as a rescue swimmer.
Week 7 Underway small boat training on 41’ Utility Boats.
Week 8 Tactical data, advance and transfer, solve basic maneuvering board problems, true wind, maintain surfaces and conduct level 1 safety inspections.
Week 9 How to plot a vessels course in restricted waters, scaleable integrated navigation system (SINS) lab, radar lab. • Week 10: Underway small boat training on 41’ Utility Boats.
Week 11 Time zones, sunrise/sunset, tides, currents, maintain charts and publications, comprehensive exam (COMPLOT).
Week 12 First aid and CPR, intro to small boat plotting, prepare for helicopter operations, emergency procedures in the event of a boat capsize, leadership, and prepare for graduation. PROFICIANT
On another note, Wesley and I have taken our first two sailing lessons!!! The first day we spent about an hour in the classroom with our instructor Capt Brigg Franklin, going over the class outline, learning the tons of new terminology that comes with sailing and sailboats, basic water safety, and more terminology. Then we went out to the 36' Hunter sailboat that we would be sailing on that day and reinforced the nomenclature of the sailboat, sails, and lines, (NOT rope). I am more of a visual and hands-on learner so that was helpful for me. There was not a lot of wind that first day, so when we took the boat out it was hard to visualize how the wind was making the boat sail. We were dead in the water much of the time. I was also WAY out of it because I had gotten the Depo shot that morning and it affects me emotionally for the first 36 hours, I start crying for no reason at all...
But we did practice basic navigation and Wesley was learning "the rules of the road" for the water. We also practiced anchoring a little that day.
On the next day We spent almost two hours in the classroom learning about the different knots that we will need to know in order to be able to sail. They are the " bowline, square knot, two different stopper-knots, and a clove-hitch with two half-hitches. There are more that we will have to learn in the next advanced sailing class we are taking. Most of this is new to Wes, so he is working on memorizing it and practicing it. It is good for him to learn from sources that are not "me". I am mainly taking this class to work on the terminology and learning HOW OT SAIL. I am knowledgeable on the rest but am very happy to be able to review and work with Wesley on the navigation side of things.
There was more wind on the second day and I was "better in the head" so I felt like I was actually learning and seeing how things worked. I find that I have a pretty good eye for reading the wind and knowing how to correct a luff or droop in the sails. I still need lots of work though and still feel very nervous at the thought of going out on water with our boat "unsupervised". I hope that at the end of these classes I will feel more confident.
Wes and I are also in the process of joining the Coast Guard Auxiliary. The Auxiliary is a non-profit volunteer organization that mimics the Coast Guard. They go out on the water and conduct safety inspections, patrols, offer boating safety classes to the public and SO much more. It is a great group to be a part of. Wes and I will learn so much more about boating and navigation and water safety. Wes will even be able to wear the C.G. uniform. Right now we are in the paperwork/testing/fingerprinting stage of joining. It is a big deal, just like actually joining the military, (been there done that), because you are wearing the military uniform and representing the Coast Guard. Wes is pretty excited about it.
