Thinking about joining after college. I want to fly helicopters for SAR.
Any other future or present Coasties?

I have a buddy in the Coast Guard. He went to the Merchant Marine Academy and got a commission in the Coast Guard shortly after. It seems like the Coast Guard is the easies branch to get a commissioned quickly.

I'll agree with that. I'll also say that their boot camp isn't as easy as some would expect. It's likened to a combination of army and navy basic training.

The cool thing about the coast guard: you're going to be doing nothing but saving lives or arresting smugglers. I'm sure they have desk jobs like any other branch, but their primary purpose is that of search-and-rescue.

I always hear about how the Coast Guard are the first ones on top of a major oil spill, setting up a cordon and stuff, taking care of the ships and wildlife.

Yep, I'm applying at the CG Academy next spring. Hopefully i'll get in.
If my piloting thing goes to shit, I'll try and be an AST.

this is very true, i work offshore and in case of a spill, the coast guard are the fist people informed, i have to deal with the puddle patrol( sorry just a old navy nickname for them) on a regular basis, they board us pretty regulary to make sure all our boat and barge paperwork is up to date and that all the safety things are working and whatnot,they can be pricks sometimes but they are only doing their jobs, i heard a rumor that within the next few years the coast guard will hand over water transportation to the DOT so that they can focus more on drug runners and homeland security

this is very true, i work offshore and in case of a spill, the coast guard are the fist people informed, i have to deal with the puddle patrol( sorry just a old navy nickname for them) on a regular basis, they board us pretty regulary to make sure all our boat and barge paperwork is up to date and that all the safety things are working and whatnot,they can be pricks sometimes but they are only doing their jobs, i heard a rumor that within the next few years the coast guard will hand over water transportation to the DOT so that they can focus more on drug runners and homeland security

I doubt that, The Coast Guard is huge on things like that. Water transportation includes search and rescue, which is the most heavily funded part of the CG.
All the rescue swimmers would do nothing.

I doubt that, The Coast Guard is huge on things like that. Water transportation includes search and rescue, which is the most heavily funded part of the CG.
All the rescue swimmers would do nothing.

no they will still do search and rescue and things of that nature, what im talking about is they may hand over the rules part, like they will no longer be the ones doing the vessel inspections and enforcing the safe waterways rules for the inland vessels,that will fall under DOT, like right now all of our mariner documents are handled by the coasties,if we renew of get original documents like tankerman,captain and so forth licsences will be handled by DOT,it cuts their paperwork down a great deal and lets them focus on more important issues. from what i have been told though they will still handle the international vessels,the big tankers and cruise ships.

fuck being good become a drug smuggler

If i see you flying a plain im going to shoot it down

Have fun outrunning these http://www.navalhelicopterassn.org/Index%20of%20Photographs/MH-68A/sahrkbite.jpg
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3834/is_200404/ai_n9356389
Article about it.
HITRON helicopters are armed with an M240 SAW, and a 50 caliber sniper rifle to shoot out engines.