OT - Service Selection-Butch, Jaime

[Guest guest]

Rhavda, wow! I know there is heavy competition for pilot training and only the

best of the best get selected. You are justifiably proud of your son. He must be

walking on air right now...Marine Air ;O)

 

My son isn't eligible to fly for Coast Guard--he wears contact lenses, and so

far the CG doesn't recognize laser-corrected vision for flight.

 

My son's best friend at the Academy is hoping to go to helo school in Florida

after graduation. My son is thinking along the lines of joining the Strike Team,

which is emergency environmental response, dealing with chemical spills, tanker

accidents, and various other HazMat problems that occur. The Coast Guard Strike

Teams (there are three) are the " highly-trained, highly-mobile first responders

to a wide range of emergencies nationwide, " but the National Strike Force also

responds outside of our borders--for instance, the Pacific Strike Force was

recently in places like Palau, the Middle East, the South Pole. But they are

kept plenty busy just here at home. After all, there are oil and chemical spills

in our waters every day.

 

I am very excited about my son's interest in this work. I think he has to be in

the Fleet a couple of years before he can be a candidate for Strike Team

training, but if he decideds he wants it, I'm sure he'll get it. He has great

determination, as I know your son also has. It takes tremendous focus to get

into a service academy, and even more to get successfully out <G> After that,

the world is their oyster. Congratulations again, Rhavda!

 

jaime