How to Succeed at Coast Guard Basic Training

Knowing and following the keys to success for Coast Guard Basic Training will make your training go easier and help you succeed. The following list provides a few examples of things you need to do to be successful in training. Not following some of these keys to success can get you kicked out of basic training.

Act with Honor
Coast Guard Seaman Recruits are subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Lying, cheating, or stealing will not be tolerated. If you do something wrong, or make a mistake, do not hide it or lie, own up to it. Violating our Core Values can have serious legal consequences.

Take Things Seriously
Make no mistake, we are serious about training you to become an effective member of the Armed Forces. If you make light of what your Company Commander is trying to teach, you will find yourself on the receiving end of some STERN discipline. This is not the place for jokes.

Build Up Your Physical Condition
Many recruits find the Coast Guard physical fitness program to be less strenuous than their regular one. That is great. Many others, career “couch potatoes,” find it almost impossible. Follow the advice given on pages 8-10. Get in shape, but build up slowly, you do not want to hurt yourself.

Follow Orders
One of the things you will learn in recruit training is how to obey an order instantly and willingly. Get used to it. It will assist you in recruit training and in your Coast Guard career.

Know Your Chain of Command
A Chain of Command is a structure of authority and responsibility. It is necessary so that everyone knows their place in the organization, and to whom they have to report. For example, your immediate supervisors are your Company Commander (CC) and Lead Company Commander (LCC). Their immediate supervisor is the Section Commander (SC), who is the next person in your chain of command. This progresses, as you can see below, up to our Commander-in-Chief, the President of the United States! You are required to know each person’s rank and name in your Chain of Command.

1. Commander-in-Chief
2. Secretary of Homeland Security
3. Coast Guard Commandant
4. Commanding Officer (CO)
5. Executive Officer (XO)
6. Training Officer (TO)
7. Regimental Officer (RO)
8. Battalion Officer (BO)
9. Battalion Commander (BC)
10. Section Commander (SC)
11. Lead Company Commander (LCC)
12. Company Commander (CC)

Other helpful persons to know: (not in Chain-of-Command)

• Command Master Chief (CMC)
• Chaplain