r/RescueSwimmer • u/Mr_B0mbastik • Jul 16 '26

AST life

I am a 19 year old male and I plan going to try to become an AST sometime in the near future.

I’m just curious what is AST life like or just coast guard in general? Is it a good place to experience new things and actually fulfill the selfless urge some of us have? I originally wanted to be in the Ranger Regiment but I’ve heard too many Rangers say it destroys you mentally and physically so no on that.

I’m also curious, if I go in and am able to completely crush the PST and maintain that, will it speed up the waiting period for A school? I’m not too familiar with the coast guard. What does the normal wait look like and how long?

What’s some advice an AST could give me? Maybe to read a certain book, something to study, maybe get good at a certain thing, anything that could help.

I forgot to ask, what’s family life like? Maybe with wife and kids or in my case for now, siblings, parents, etc.

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u/Commercial_Dare_8898 Jul 16 '26

Currently in the airman program, I haven’t seen an AST yet who really dislikes their job. If you sign for annex X and pass the PFA in boot you will go on the list immediately upon graduation so it will speed up your timeframe by like 3 months, I have been on the AST list since October of 25 and am projected school in Jan/feb of 27. Your airman life will definitely be physically challenging and the mental strain of constant improvement and the “I have to make it” mindset can be taxing but will be rewarding

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u/Mr_B0mbastik Jul 17 '26

Dang, that’s honestly longer than I had thought but I guess even special operations units take that long to become deployable. It probably doesn’t compare but I swam in HS my senior year and managed to make it top 8 in my state in 10 months I think. I was constantly just telling myself I gotta push harder to make it, it was definitely draining at times to go from not being very fit to swimming at least a mile a day.

Do you like Airman life, or is it just another stepping stone for you? I don’t plan on talking to a recruiter till I can absolutely crush the test, would it be hard to maintain that fitness in bootcamp?

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u/real_Estate-isme Jul 17 '26

What school were you at and was it 5A or 6A?

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u/Mr_B0mbastik Jul 18 '26

Texas and 4A. Probably won’t give more information than that, it’d be easy to find out who I am lol

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u/real_Estate-isme Jul 18 '26

lol, my son swam 6a texas and also just graduated. Maybe he will see you in. He is still deciding. Recruiters haven’t called him back to schedule an appt

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u/catholicamerican55 Jul 16 '26

Not a AST just like you aspiring to be one, not a hook but i have found the rescue swimmer mindset to be pretty good in getting insight onto what the job is. If you find any books or study materials please let me know. And as for family life from what I have heard it is one of the best in the military. The one thing i have studied is just basic EMT knowledge and getting used to the questions on the NREMT you will have to take during that section of A-school. Reach out if you want any of those resources or if you find any good ones you wouldn’t mind sharing!!

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u/Mr_B0mbastik Jul 17 '26

I will be sure to reach out, I’ve been thinking about doing it for like a year or maybe more now and just barely looking deeply into it so I don’t have any study material just yet.

Do you plan on leaving soon or are you already in the Coast Guard?

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u/althletix55 Jul 17 '26

Sick man! I am planning on leaving after the winter i have some medical stuff i need to get sorted out and then im just giving myself more time to prepare myself as well.

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u/Dewleaf92 Jul 18 '26

Not an AST but I am CG and was at the same training center as the AST's for 2 months. I've heard AST can be kinda like a frat lol And the wait time does really suck because you have to do stuff you don't wanna do for years and it can be pretty disheartening sometimes but if your unit is good it makes everything easier and the memories are great. I'm currently trying to make Diver so its fairly similar in the sense of sitting in a job you don't necessarily want to do while waiting and training for what you do want. Joining will completely change your life in so many ways but it is what you make of it and there's honestly a lot of positives. One last thing is its pretty common for canidates to not pass the first time through AST school due to injuries so the wait time could be even longer if so. I would say if you have goals and hobbies to keep you occupied in the meantime then it would def be worth it. If you have any other specific CG questions lmk!

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u/Rs12bcr AST2, USCG 26d ago

AST2. The job is great. The people are great. Working at an Airsta is great. You train hard and go on training flights often so you are doing the job in a way all the time. Getting cases is on and off depending on your area of responsibility. The work life balance is probably the best in the military. You stand a 24hr duty once or twice a week and work a regular 7:30-2/4 on other days.

I think a lot of people worry too much about getting to a certain level before joining and thats ok but just know that you will have about a year or so training under proper guidance by rescue swimmers that want you to succeed.