My godson is a Maritime Enforcement Specialist in South Texas. Before he joined the Coast Guard in 2009 he had an associates in Law Enforcement, and has since finished his Bachelor's. He spent four years in Northern California and now is on the Texas coast.

Great kid with a switched on wife. As an example, a couple of years ago they decided they would be debt free using the Dave Ramsey method, and Scottie poured all of the per diem he could from drug interdiction assignments, papal visit and POTUS temporary security duty into a debt snowball and is now completely debt free.

He's asked me to write a letter to the OCS Selection Board for him. I was thinking that I would use the example of personal responsibility I just mentioned as an anecdote about his maturity.

Are their other traits that an OCS Selection Board will be looking for that I ought to mention? BTW, the packet is not due until October, so this is another example of how he is thinking ahead, to make the best impression he can.

quote:

Originally posted by Dresden:
BTW, the packet is not due until October, so this is another example of how he is thinking ahead, to make the best impression he can.

I would include that as well. I don't know military things at all, but as a business owner who has hired and fired some really stupid people, forethought like that would be a check on the right side for them.

The CG has an Officer Application Job Aid Kit available online. If you download it and go to page 16, you'll see a lot of guidance on letters of recommendation. The OAJAK is available here: https://www.gocoastguard.com/ojak

Write to character and leadership. Give specific examples, when possible. The recruiters tell candidates to not get letters of recommendation from family members. Even though a godparent may not be a legal family member, you may want to leave that out and just mention how many years you've known him.

Anyway, there's some good info in the OAJAK.

Thanks for that tip! The Application Kit was a great resource and I wove my recommendation around it. I really appreciate your suggestion, and think that I nailed it with the information you provided me. I'll PM you with the draft letter if you would like.

quote:

Originally posted by bobandmikako:
The CG has an Officer Application Job Aid Kit available online. If you download it and go to page 16, you'll see a lot of guidance on letters of recommendation. The OAJAK is available here: https://www.gocoastguard.com/ojak

Write to character and leadership. Give specific examples, when possible. The recruiters tell candidates to not get letters of recommendation from family members. Even though a godparent may not be a legal family member, you may want to leave that out and just mention how many years you've known him.

Anyway, there's some good info in the OAJAK.

Dresden, sure, send it over. I'll take a look. Glad it helped.