Representation Within Occupation The representation of USCG enlisted force by race/ethnicity and gender in occupational areas with the overall DoD rates for comparison is presented in Table 7.5. The USCG is unique in that all occupations are open to both men and women—there are no combat restrictions. However, women were still underrepresented in the infantry, gun crews, and seamanship specialties compared to men in the USCG (9 and 16 percent, respectively). Restructuring of the Coast Guard's aviation rating from late FY 1997 through FY 1999 with additional reclassification occurring in FYs 2000 and 2001 led to some changes in occupational area distributions. The most notable differences were an increase in the number of positions classified as infantry, gun crews, and seamanship with a corresponding decrease in electrical/mechanical equipment repair. In FY 2000 there was a decrease in infantry, gun crews, and seamanship with increases in electrical/mechanical equipment repair and electronic equipment repair. Then, in FY 2001 there was an increase in electrical/mechanical equipment repair with a corresponding decrease in electronic equipment repair as the USCG moved jobs into the appropriate occupational code to reflect updated job requirements.
Historically, all new USCG enlisted members were directly assigned to field units before attending specialty training in the A-schools where the introductory job-specific training courses are taught. Presently, an effort is being made to assign more recruits directly to A-schools in critical specialties. Approximately 15 percent of USCG recruits go directly to advanced training after basic training. A USCG member is admitted to any A‑school for which he or she is qualified based on the individual's ASVAB scores.[Footnote 6]. Training takes place as openings become available, which may explain the higher percentage of those classified as non-occupational in the USCG enlisted force compared to the overall DoD (18 and 6 percent, respectively). [Footnote 6] USCG Frequently Asked Questions About Recruiting. URL: http://www.gocoastguard.com/faq.html. [back to paragraph] |
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