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.
But 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).
Jim 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.
