Recruiting Liaisons
Coast Guard units can do even more than individuals alone. Organization at the unit level can showcase our missions and assets to a broader audience. Opportunities to host public open houses or engage community organizations can build an awareness and appreciation of our service, on which recruiting can build. A formally designated Coast Guard Recruiting Liaison can be useful to maximize the synergy of these efforts with established recruiters.
If you have additional questions, please email: COMDT-Recruiting-IMT@uscg.mil.
Command Liaison of the Month
The Coast Guard Recruiting Command recognized CWO3 Anthony Fuentes of Base San Juan as the "Command Liaison of the Month" for July 2023 as a result of his exceptional efforts to support recruiting. Fuentes, a Logistics Division Chief, in charge of a variety of operations at Base San Juan, leverages his position with different departments to set up tours on the base, sector and cutters to bring awareness of the Coast Guard to the surrounding community. He actively solicits current members from different ratings to speak at these events to give a firsthand account of what it’s like to be in the Coast Guard.
In July, Fuentes went above and beyond to support recruiting activities during the annual Back-to-School event at the Plaza Las Americas shopping center in San Juan, Puerto Rico. His proactive leadership, coordination and input were instrumental in making this event a huge success, exposing over 150,000 potential recruits to the service, resulting in approximately 100 new leads generated from youth interested in joining the Coast Guard. The Aguadilla and San Juan Recruiting Offices provided extensive support for the event. Fuentes’ coordination and collaboration with members from Coast Guard Base San Juan, and the Aids to Navigation Team that provided a Trailer-able Aids to Navigation Boat, enabled the Coast Guard to showcase its unique mission capabilities bringing awareness to the service to attract the next generation to the Coast Guard. In addition, Fuentes leveraged his relationships with Sector San Juan’s media office to provide public affairs support of this recruiting outreach effort, enhancing the overall visibility and effectiveness of this event.
Fuentes jumped on the chance to serve as the Recruiting Liaison for the Sector when the program was first announced. He brings nine years of recruiting experience as a production recruiter in New York City, Recruiter in Charge (RIC) in the Bronx and production recruiter and RIC in the San Juan Recruiting Office and was happy to assist with the recruiting effort again.
“Recruiting was one of my favorite assignments and I like that I can still help, especially being the go-to person here at the base and sector that directly assists the San Juan Recruiting Office,” said Fuentes.
FAQs
Q: What is a Recruiting Liaison?
A: Recruiting Liaisons act as a conduit between a unit and the local recruiting office to increase community engagement and identify recruiting leads. Larger commands are required and smaller commands are encouraged to designate a Coast Guard Recruiting Liaison.
Q: What does a Recruiting Liaison do?
A: Responsibilities include promoting Scout Talent and Refer (STAR) efforts, arranging officer interviews, and coordinating outreach and engagement opportunities.
Q: What are outreach and engagement opportunities?
A: These efforts might include enabling recruiters to bring the public for tours of the unit, providing assets for displays at recruiting events, or finding ways for the unit to reach recruitable audiences themselves.
Q: How can we promote Scout Talent and Refer (STAR) efforts?
A: A great start is to invite a nearby recruiter to an all-hands event. Print out the program flyer in the Resources section and post around the unit. Publicly recognize members who have made successful referrals.
Q: What help is needed with officer interviews?
A: Well over 1,000 officer applications are received each year, all of whom must be interviewed by a local three-officer panel chaired by an O-4 or above. Ensure the Recruiting Liaison, Education Services Officer, or similar person has access to a healthy pool of officers to draw from for these interviews and encourage members to volunteer.
Q: Who at CG RC should I send the designation memo to?
A: COMDT-Recruiting-IMT@uscg.mil
Q: Where is the nearest recruiting office?
A: You will find a map and list of Coast Guard recruiting office locations here.