Can you guys help me out?

As far as knowing what you want... I have a friend, a Coastie. This young man was AST, AST, AST... nothing else mattered, nothing. He trained, he prepared, he readied himself in every way possible. Then he went to boot camp. His CC was an MST in the CG. They talked, discussed, compared. He came out of boot camp 8 weeks later and decided MST was where it was. He is now a very successful MST in the CG. It is completely OK to be focused on one rate right now and see only that rate as what you want. But please, once you are actually in the CG and talk to people, listen to them. There may be a job out there that you had never even considered and suddenly what you thought was going to be your only mission in life, turns around to something else. Or maybe it won't. But just keep an open mind & open eyes. You'll make the right decision.

To the other poster... There are 3 female rescue swimmers (AST's) in the CG. Did you see the movie The Guardian?? (Kevin Costner, Ashton Kutcher) The female AST instructor in that movie is an actual United States Coast Guardsman AST. She is one of the three. It is tough for women to do but it absolutely can be done! I say let's go for four!

this is a very hard job, one of the hardest in the Coast Guard. Obviously you need to be a very good swimmer and by very good I mean best in your school good, head of the swim team good. Even with that the training will be very demanding, they will give you every reason and opportunity to quit. This is not a job to be taken lightly, peoples lives are at risk, your failure or hesitancy will mean their death.

Last I knew there were 2 female Resue Swimmers (ASTs) out of the 130 or so in the entire USCG.

Good luck with that goal.

Go for it. If you really want to and if its your choice go for it. Find out if they have an NROTC program. If you do sign up for it. If they don't look up on-line the job of the coast guard. I'm sure you'll find some way to train.

The pipeline for AST is said to be the toughest in the USCG; so, you'd better be prepared. Look at the sites below for the requirements:

http://www.gocoastguard.com/find-your-career/enlis...

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/cgjoin/l/blast.htm

http://usmilitary.about.com/od/coastguard/a/cgresc...

Do it before it's too late

Good luck