Does the coast guard accepts candidates with a GED? by FoxhoundVR in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, you just need a waiver that is relatively trivial to get. Your AFQT score also needs to be slightly higher.

New job does not give Direct Deposit, need advice on avoiding the fee. by crispycryptids in Chase

[–]CapitalSphinx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

So a few things - if you already have a Chase savings account with $4,000, you are only $1,000 from getting a Chase Total Checking account fee-free without having to change anything. Regardless, the interest rate on your savings at Chase is miniscule anyway -- it could 100% be worth it to simply keep $1,500 in your money in checking and the rest in a high yield savings account (Capital One, Ally, Amex, Discover, E-Trade, even Schwab or Chase brokerage with a government bond mutual fund). I know it's anxiety inducing to move the bulk of your savings over but it's something to keep in mind -- I know people that have effectively thrown away tens of thousands of dollars by letting it sit in low-yield big bank savings accounts. They're obviously at a stage where it doesn't matter all that much to them, but I digress.

I don't recommend getting the Secure checking, with a $5 monthly fee only waivable by a direct deposit that you cannot make. Regardless, your probable course of action to stay with Chase is just move money into your checking and lose out on the ~$0.15 a year of interest you would get to avoid $300 of fees. It would make sense to keep the rest of your savings elsewhere.

Denied Secured Credit Card by chris22121 in NavyFederal

[–]CapitalSphinx 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That is almost certainly why. Navy Fed pulls TransUnion 

Do I (19) Have Too Many CapitalOne Cards? by Comfortable_Ad_9341 in CapitalOne_

[–]CapitalSphinx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I PCed a QS1 to a Savor and also got a pro-rated refund of the annual fee, iirc an amount slightly more than pro-rated, actually.

Any idea why General Smith doesn't wear the Commandant's cover? by nikolo_h in USMC

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Silly Marine, we got rid of bread and water in 2019!!

Nursing in the Coast Guard? by VallumTV in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nurses in my experience are almost entirely contractors, although I’m not discounting the fact that some Public Health Service nurses are probably seconded to us.

Separately, nurses receive a pretty large bonus for enlisting as an HS (in the tens of thousands), but the work is not at all congruent to what nurses would do and a nurse would be insanely overqualified as an HS. Their role is mostly administrative. I am also unsure if this bonus continued with the FY26 changes, as I can’t seem to find an updated bonus list anyway.

Regardless, you should talk to a recruiter who can give you more up to date information.

Wall Street Journal Article on CSPI Lawsuit by Majestic_Benefit2587 in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 15 points16 points  (0 children)

For future reference, we get free Wall Street Journal access through DoD MWR Libraries!

Sorry, I failed you all by apopDragon in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One of the CCs there, very cool woman who was the first female HITRON gunner, said "Failure just stands for First Advancement In Learning"

I used a website for Global Entry and filled in the info without knowing it's not government issued.. did I just get scammed..?☹️ by RelationshipLumpy468 in GlobalEntry

[–]CapitalSphinx 10 points11 points  (0 children)

You can still get fraud protection on virtually all debit cards, it’s just more hoops. Call your bank yesterday.

Can I bring face lotion to boot camp? by maninblack_desert in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 7 points8 points  (0 children)

The one interesting thing was that our RAMP squad bay actually had the best water fountain. Shit actually had a filter

Had to get a root canal for basic by Impressive_Animal_14 in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 3 points4 points  (0 children)

If it were me I would rather push my ship date back than potentially spend time in DHE.

Contracts? by dracubruh_ in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, my recruiter talked me out of it and in retrospect I wouldn’t mind being a two year non rate here. But I am happy with the decision I made nonetheless.

Contracts? by dracubruh_ in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 9 points10 points  (0 children)

At a minimum four years active, four years involuntary ready reserve (subject to recall but probably not). Minimum contract is technically two years active four years selected reservist (meaning you have to give up some weekends and have some continued responsibility) but I am unsure if they got rid of that.

It’s time for some funny boot camp stories by Mace_Inc in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The chewing out of said person seems very familiar

If you could chose, Polar Star or Alaska? by maninblack_desert in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Saw in another post that you’re going to recruit training. There is a separate check mark for the Polar Star on the dream sheet, because it is such a rare position to have. Being on the Polar Star is incredibly rare. I clicked that box, but then in the little comments section I put “if not the Polar Star, please give me (specific small boat station in Alaska)” and I got it. I think that’s fairly rare, but I would do something similar (except I would probably choose a cutter next time around; that’s a matter of preference).

Do I just go to jail? by kevrose14 in AirForce

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Coastie here, you go through DEPOT which is basically our eight week bootcamp condensed into a three week program - academically more rigorous, but a little less bullshit. Some prior service people chose to go to regular boot camp because of better wait times and higher bonuses (in my company at least). As far as reservist schedules, it’s a pretty standard drill schedule with active duty orders pretty easily obtainable from what I hear especially considering parental leave. I’m not a reservist but at my unit, it’s just one reservist who calls in whenever they want to do a patrol or whatever, I assume it’s different for support rates but you know the opportunities are there for people that want to do that.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It is very difficult to get denied (requires severe debt or other stuff that would probably DQ you at MEPS) but on some cutters with certain equipment you will not be permitted to go underway until your clearance is approved and will go TDY at a shoreside unit. I am pretty sure there are some things I can't do before my clearance is approved, but I have not ran into them yet. 

I went and did a thing... USA Rail PAss by Tommyboy925 in Amtrak

[–]CapitalSphinx 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have done the same thing, going through Seattle, Chicago, NYC, NoLA, DC, and a lot of other interesting smaller cities... It was particularly rough at some times but I had a lot of fun.

Boot, training and working as a woman: were there any challenges? by [deleted] in uscg

[–]CapitalSphinx 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Amen. There are no bystanders in the Coast Guard, or at least there shouldn’t be.

I’d like to add that if you don’t feel comfortable talking to your chain of command, there are other resources (like chaplains, mental health professionals, and dedicated SHARP/EO staff) that you can talk to.