ALCOAST 226/24 - MAY 2024 RETURN TO YOU PROGRAM FOR CG RECRUITING

R 221940Z MAY 24 MID120001126141U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 226/24
SSIC 1100
SUBJ: RETURN TO YOU PROGRAM FOR CG RECRUITING
A. Coast Guard Recruiting, COMDTINST 1100.2H
B. Enlistments, Evaluations, and Advancements, COMDTINST M1000.2C
C. Military Assignments and Authorized Absences, COMDTINST M1000.8A
D. Scout Talent and Refer (STAR), PSCINST 1120.1B
E. COMCOGARD PSC WASHINGTON DC 201501Z FEB 24/ALCGPSC 025/24
1. This ALCOAST announces the establishment of the Return to You
program beta test.
2. The Return to You program is a recruiting initiative that will
offer an enlistment option that guarantees the Coast Guard will
assign a recruit to a unit within a specific Sector's geographic
area of responsibility near the recruit's home of record for the
recruit's first assignment after graduation from Basic Training.
3. The Return to You program will serve as a combined recruiting,
assignment, and continuity program that aims to encourage Coast
Guard units to scout talent and refer high quality applicants to
fill gaps at their own units or nearby units and increase the
applicant pool by alleviating the concerns of some prospective
applicants (and their parents or guardians) that Coast Guard
service necessarily entails immediate assignment far from home
without a support network.
4. Many Coast Guard units have established strong relationships
with their local communities, particularly where Service ties
are strong in coastal communities, designated Coast Guard cities,
and other places where the Coast Guard is intimately connected
to society and the economy. Additionally, tight-knit communities
and a lack of direct familial connection to U.S. military service
may discourage some young persons from joining the Coast Guard
if serving requires immediate and distant separation from home.
The Return to You program builds upon the success of the existing
"guaranteed District program" by expanding the guarantee to the
recruit (when possible and subject to the needs of the Service)
to appeal to young persons who wish to serve initially within
their local community and to encourage Coast Guard units to scout
talent within their local communities to fill existing local
personnel gaps. See REFs (A) and (C).
5. The Return to You program will allow a Coast Guard unit to
attract a potential recruit within its local community and then
refer that potential recruit to the Coast Guard Recruiting Command
(CG RC) and the local Recruiting Office (RO) to screen the
prospective applicant for eligibility to serve. If CG RC and
EPM approve of the Return to You accession, the RO will access
the recruit into the Service. If accessed through the Return
to You beta test program, the recruit may be assigned to any
billet located within the identified Sector's geographic area
of responsibility regardless of whether the unit to which the
recruit is assigned reports to that Sector or is part of that
Sector's operational chain of command (i.e., the prospective
recruit may be assigned to a cutter that is homeported
in that Sector's geographic area of responsibility, a base, or
another unit). The Coast Guard will guarantee the minimum duration
of the assignment on the same terms as it currently does for the
"guaranteed District program" (one year), and the recruit will
otherwise be subject to all standard military assignment and
training processes and requirements.
6. A person who successfully refers a candidate for accession
into the Coast Guard through the Return to You program remains
eligible for STAR incentives, provided all eligibility criteria
detailed in REFs (D) and (E) are satisfied and subject to
CG RC's final determination.
7. During the beta test, only units within the following
Coast Guard Districts will be eligible to participate in the
Return to You program:
    a. District 1
    b. District 5
    c. District 9
    d. District 13
8. Please send questions to the Coast Guard Recruiting Incident
Management Team (COMDT-Recruiting-IMT@uscg.mil).
9. RDML R. E. Dash, Recruiting IMT Incident Commander, sends.
10. Internet release is authorized.