My son is scheduled to leave for boot camp on 3/3 and graduate 4/24. (I know that date may change) He really wants to be a Boatswains mate. I saw that school was in Yorktown Va. Just wondering if he gets what he wants-does he go to school right away? Time with family? Does he drive his own vehicle and have some freedom at school? If anyone has done this and can give me some insight, it would be appreciated.

When he graduates boot camp he will get to take 5 days of leave plus up to 9 travel days depending on where he gets stationed. He will not go to school right away. He will go to a unit and put his name on the waitlist. In school he can take his own vehicle if he wants and he will be free when classes are done for the day and on the weekends.

Something to understand about the Coast Guard is that there is no selection process for whatever rating a person wants. In your son's case Boatswain's Mate. As long as one has the requsite ASVAB scores, then they can apply to whatever school they want. Then it's just a matter of waiting until their name comes up on the list and orders will be issued.

After boot camp, he will either be a non-rate, which is simply someone without a specialty. Once he gets to his first unit, whether it be a station, cutter, or sector, he will need to get his qualifications done. Qualifications are specific for everywhere you go, and he'll be assigned them by his unit. At most units, he will need to be at that unit for at least 4 months and be qualified before he can put his name on the waitlist for any school. Right now, the waitlist for BM "A" school is (I believe) 6-9 months.

So all together, this means that if he wants to become a Boatswains Mate, he will be at his first unit for at least 10 months, and up to 13 months.

My fiancé leaves for bootcamp Sept. 29th. How does the process work with moving to his first station after graduation? We live in Michigan. Will he come home after graduation, we pack up, and use his leave days for moving?

In the current state of the world right now with COVID the majority of graduates are not able to go home but will fly straight to their unit. Leave is not being granted after leaving Cape May. In some cases graduates can go home if their home address is on a direct path to their new unit but they still dont get leave, they have enough time to get their car and go to their unit. He will have a class in boot camp about the process to move your belongings but short answer is he does not have to be there to pack or to ship your belongings. His recruiter should be making him aware of this information. If you have more questions let me know.

To add to Husker's answer... You say your fiance. Will he be your husband prior to boot? If not, the CG isn't moving you anywhere. They'll move him but you are nothing until you are a spouse. (Sorry I'm a little late to the party, was dealing with some personal issues and haven't been on the forum in a while.)