Support
The Coast Guard’s support specialties—including finance, intelligence, law, and reserve component management—are vital to our operations and offer great career opportunities.
Financial Management
As a financial management specialist, your career will focus on budgeting, financial analysis, accounting operations, internal controls, audit readiness, and supply and inventory management. Assignments are typically located at headquarters, district staffs, bases, training centers, and service centers.
How to Enter the Specialty
You can begin your career as a financial management specialist through a general commissioning source like Officer Candidate School and choosing assignments in the specialty, or by obtaining an advanced degree (e.g., MBA or MPA).
Related Enlisted Careers
Intelligence
Intelligence officers collect, analyze, process, and disseminate intelligence in support of the Coast Guard’s missions. At the strategic level, intelligence informs global force laydown, acquisitions, partnerships, and interagency activities.
Your assignments may include counterintelligence, cryptologic groups, cyber, interagency, or criminal investigations. You’ll gain increased responsibility as your career progresses, and develop your decision-making and leadership skills by leading a larger branch or division or pursuing a post-graduate program.
You may also seek to broaden into a second specialty such as cyber, finance, or human resources.
How to Enter the Specialty
If you have prior education and experience, you can enter the field through the DCIO program, or through a general source like Officer Candidate School and choose assignments in the specialty.
Related Enlisted Careers
Law
As a member of the Coast Guard legal program (CGJAG), you’ll engage in every facet of mission support and deliver legal advice across the full spectrum of Coast Guard operations. To receive a CGJAG assignment, you must apply and provide satisfactory evidence of law school graduation and bar admission.
Additional information regarding a career in the CGJAG can be found here.
How to Enter the Specialty
If you have prior education and credentials, you can enter the field through the Direct Commission Lawyer program, or you can enter through a general source like Officer Candidate School and complete advanced education opportunities in the field.
Related Enlisted Careers
Reserve Component Manager
As a reserve component manager (RCM), you’ll organize, recruit, train, and provide administrative support for Coast Guard reservists. You’ll be responsible for making sure the reserve force is deployment-ready and capable of augmenting the active-duty workforce during anticipated shortages.
How to Enter the Specialty
You can enter the specialty if you were commissioned through a general source such as Officer Candidate School or the Selected Reserve Direct Commission (SRDC) program, and applying to a competitive panel for selection to the specialty.