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You are here: Home / Coast Guard Ratings

Coast Guard Ratings

U.S. Coast Guard ratings are like the rating system used by the Navy, known as Navy Enlistment Classification (NEC) codes. The U.S. Army and Marines use Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) codes, and the U.S. Air Force uses the Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC), serving the same purpose as Coast Guard ratings.

Coast Guard RatingsBut don’t confuse ratings with “rates.” Rates are the Navy and Coast Guard’s enlisted pay-grades. For example, if you are a Petty Officer 3rd Class, and your rating is Boatswain’s Mate, then you are a Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class (BM3). For ranks E-7 and above, the rate and ratings are reversed. For example, if you a Master Chief Aviation Survival Technician is abbreviated as ASTCM.

A Guide to all Coast Guard Enlisted Ratings

Here are the different occupational fields for Coast Guard enlisted members:

Aviation Group

AMT – Aviation Maintenance Technician

AST – Aviation Survival Technician

AET – Avionics Electrical Technician

Administrative and Scientific Group

HS – Health Services Technician

MST – Marine Science Technician

MU – Musician

PA – Public Affairs Specialist

SK – Storekeeper

CS – Culinary Specialist

YN – Yeoman

Deck and Weapons Group

BM – Boatswain’s Mate

ME – Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist

GM – Gunner’s Mate

OS – Operations Specialist

IS – Intelligence specialist

Engineering and Hull Group

DC – Damage Controlman

EM – Electrician’s Mate

ET – Electronics Technician

MK – Machinery Technician

IT – Information Systems Technician

DV – Diver

Coast Guard Enlisted Ratings Descriptions

Aviation Group

AMT – Aviation Maintenance Technician             

What You Would Do: Your job will be to inspect, service, maintain, and repair aircraft power plant, power train, and structural systems. You will also maintain metal, composite, and fiberglass materials, fabricate cables, perform aircraft corrosion control and basic electrical troubleshooting. You will also hold an aircrew position on Coast Guard aircraft.

AST – Aviation Survival Technician

What You Would Do: Your job will be to inspect, service, maintain, and repair aircraft and aircrew survival equipment and rescue devices. You will also perform duties as a rescue swimmer and provide aircrew survival training.

AET – Avionics Electrical Technician        

What You Would Do: You will inspect, service, maintain, and repair aircraft power, communications, navigation, auto flight, and sensor systems. You will also hold an aircrew position on Coast Guard aircraft.

Administrative and Scientific Group

HS – Health Services Technician

What You Would Do: Your job will be to administer medicine, apply first aid, assist the duties operating room, tend to patients, and assist dental officers.

MST – Marine Science Technician            

What You Would Do: Your job will be to conduct marine-safety activities. These activities include investigating pollution incidents, monitoring pollution cleanups, conducting harbor patrols for port safety and security, boarding foreign-vessels to enforce pollution and navigation safety laws, inspecting waterfront facilities, and supervising the loading of explosives on vessels.

MU – Musician  

What You Would Do: You will be a member of the Coast Guard Band at the Coast Guard Academy. You must audition and be accepted into the band. After recruit training, you will enlist in the United States Coast Guard for four years at the rank of Musician First Class (E-6).

PA – Public Affairs Specialist       

What You Would Do: Your job will be to report and edit news stories, publish information about service members and activities through magazines, radio and television, and newspapers. You will also shoot and develops film and photos.

SK – Storekeeper

What You Would Do: Your job will be to order, receive, inventory, store, and issue clothing, equipment, food, and other supply items.

CS – Culinary Specialist  

What You Would Do: Your job will be to cook, bake, prepare meals, keep records, help order supplies, and inspect food.

YN – Yeoman     

What You Would Do: Your job will be to prepare and route correspondence and reports and maintain personnel records and publications. You will also be responsible for processing and counseling members on various pay entitlements.

Deck and Weapons Group

BM – Boatswain’s Mate

What You Would Do: Your job will be to operate small boats, store cargo, handle ropes and lines, and direct work of the deck force. You will also perform the navigation of the ship’s steering, supervise lookouts, visual communication, and maintenance of navigational aids.

ME – Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist         

What You Would Do: You will serve as a specialist in maritime law enforcement and security.

GM – Gunner’s Mate

What You Would Do: You will operate and perform maintenance on rocket launchers, guns and gun mounts, and guided-missile launching systems. Your job will be to inspect and repair electrical, electronic, mechanical, and hydraulic systems.

OS – Operations Specialist

What You Would Do: Your job will be to operate telecommunications equipment and sensors. You will also control operations in Rescue Coordination Centers, cutters, and stations.

IS – Intelligence specialist            

What You Would Do: You will be responsible for collecting and interpreting intelligence, specifically about enemies or potential enemies. You will analyze photos and prepare charts, maps, and reports that describe the strategic situation all over the world.

Engineering and Hull Group

DC – Damage Controlman           

What You Would Do: Your job will be to fabricate, install and repair shipboard structures, plumbing, and piping systems. You will also perform damage control in firefighting and operate nuclear, biological, chemical, and radiological defense equipment.

EM – Electrician’s Mate 

What You Would Do: Your job will be to test, maintain, and repair electrical equipment. This includes navigation, identification, detection, reconnaissance, special purpose equipment. You will be responsible for conducting electrical training for all Machinist Technicians throughout the fleet.

ET – Electronics Technician         

What You Would Do: Your job will be to maintain towers and antennas and all electronic equipment used for communications, detection ranging, recognition and countermeasures, worldwide navigational systems, computers, and sonars.

MK – Machinery Technician        

What You Would Do: Your job will be to operate, maintain, and repair the ship’s propulsion, auxiliary equipment, and outside equipment such as steering, refrigeration/air conditioning, and steam equipment.

IT – Information Systems Technician

What You Would Do: Your job will be to operate communication equipment and transmit, receive, and processes all forms of military record and voice communications. You will also install and maintain telecommunications equipment.

DV – Diver          

What You Would Do: Your job will be to sweep ports and waterways during coastal security missions. You will also conduct salvage and recovery operations, inspect Coast Guard cutter hulls, survey coral reefs and environmentally sensitive areas, maintain and place of aids to navigational and conduct polar operations.


The U.S. Coast Guard Officer Specialty Codes

The U.S. Coast Guard uses Officer Specialty Codes to identify officer careers within the Coast Guard. All OSC’s begin with “CG,” and then the three letters following CG are the abbreviation for the specialty (e.g., AVI for Aviation). The two digits after the specialty is a sequential number for each specialty, followed by an A, J, or M to indicate if you are an Apprentice, Journeyman, or Master. For example, OSC CGAVI10A shows that you are an Aviation Apprentice.

If there are subspecialties in your file, you will have a slightly different OSC. The OSC still begins with CG and the three-digit specialty code followed by the two-digit subspecialty. The last digit indicates the level you have achieved. For example, OSC CGAVI112 shows you are Fixed Wing Aviation Level II.

A Guide to all U.S. Coast Guard Officer Specialty Codes

Here are the different occupational fields for Coast Guard Officers:

AEN – Aeronautical Engineering

AVI – Aviation

CEN – Civil Engineering

CYB – Cyber

FIN – Finance

INT – Intel

LGL – Legal

NEN – Naval Engineering

OAR – Response-Ashore

OAP – Operations Ashore-Prevention

PHA – Physician Assistant

Coast Guard Officer Specialty Code Descriptions

AEN – Aeronautical Engineering

What You Would Do: Your job will be to manage aeronautical engineering aircraft systems or depot-level maintenance and support programs. You will also manage aviation program finances, information systems and aviation electronics, avionics, sensor systems, and information systems for all Coast Guard aircraft.

AVI – Aviation

What You Would Do: You will have general Aviation-related knowledge and skillsets. The Aviation Specialty has two subspecialties, CG-AVI11 Fixed Wing Aviation and CG-AVI12 Rotary Wing Aviation.

CEN – Civil Engineering

What You Would Do: Your job will be to manage the life cycle of real property by providing the planning, budgeting, designing, construction, commissioning, operation, and maintenance, of land, buildings, and structures.

CYB – Cyber

What You Would Do: Your job will be to build, secure, operate, defend, and protect Coast Guard and U.S. cyberspace resources. You will also conduct related intelligence activities, enable future operations, and project power in or through cyberspace.

FIN – Finance

What You Would Do: You will perform budget and financial analysis, budget formulation and execution, accounting operations, internal controls, audit readiness, supply and inventory management.

INT – Intel

What You Would Do: Your job will be to perform a wide range of duties associated with the collection, analysis, processing, and dissemination of intelligence.

LGL – Legal

What You Would Do: Your job will be to provide commanders with proactive legal advice and counsel across the full range of Coast Guard operations. You will have to pass the bar and be accepted into the Coast Guard JAG program.

NEN – Naval Engineering

What You Would Do: You will be responsible for executing and overseeing the design, construction, operation, maintenance, and sustainment of cutters and boats.

OAR – Response-Ashore

What You Would Do: Your job as a Response-Ashore Specialty Officer covers the functions of Search and Rescue, Defense Operations/Readiness, Maritime Law Enforcement/Ports, Waterways Coastal Security (PWCS) Operations, Boat Forces, Marine Environmental Response, Contingency Preparedness, and Incident Management.

OAP – Operations Ashore-Prevention

What You Would Do: As an Operations Ashore-Prevention Specialty Officer, you will manage and execute Coast Guard Prevention ashore operations. You will have detailed knowledge of the inspection of vessels, facilities, maritime investigations, enforcement of waterway safety and security standards, and waterway analyses.

PHA – Physician Assistant

What You Would Do: As a Physician Assistant, you will be a medical officer with a degree from an accredited civilian or military training program and board-certified by the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).


About The AuthorJim spent 22 years on active duty, climbing the ranks from Airman Basic to a decorated Air Force Major. Stationed all over the world, he held many high-level posts, including Chief of Foreign Military Sales at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Jim earned his Ph.D. through the Montgomery Era GI Bill and spent 13 years teaching African Studies in Pennsylvania. Jim is also an award-winning travel writer.


Related Articles
The Coast Guard (USCG) U.S. Coast Guard Ranks & Insignia
Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) Choosing A Military Job As A New Recruit
Introduction to Military Careers Military Pay Grade Vs. Rank

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