Ready to Serve: Reservists Complete Boarding Team Member College

Official Statements

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “A steady cadence of pops reverberated along the shooting line. Ejected brass landed with a ring on the range’s concrete floor. The firearms instructors scanned the line of shooters - stepping in to offer advice, tips, and adjustments or to give a quick word of encouragement. On this Saturday morning in November, the shooters were reservists from units across the Great Lakes District.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “These reservists weren’t only aiming at their targets but they also had their sights on the larger goal of becoming boarding team members through the completion of a 12-day long Boarding Team Member College hosted at Station Marblehead.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “This iteration of the Boarding Team Member College trained 19 total students. Thirteen of the students were reservists. Two active duty instructors and one reservist instructor taught the classes and gave hands-on-training that covered all of the topics on the Boarding Team Member Personal Qualification Standard (PQS). Some of these topics include authority and jurisdiction, use of force, CPR, and first aid. Students that complete the Boarding Team Member College return to their unit with a completed PQS.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “On this day, the focus was on the trainees becoming competent with the firearms they will carry as boarding team members. One reservist in attendance was Seaman Cole Kirchner from Station Grand Haven in Michigan. Kirchner, a carpenter in his civilian life, will eventually attend Boatswain’s Mate A-school, but on this morning, he was focused entirely on learning how to safely and efficiently handle a firearm. “Everyone that is going to be using firearms should be able to handle them safely and competently,” Kirchner explained.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “While Kirchner has some experience with pistols outside of the Coast Guard, he said the training he is receiving as part of Boarding Team Member College has been essential. “The standardization, the repetition, the clear instruction, and having one-on-one instructors coming over and watching everything you’re doing is crucial,” said Kirchner. Another reservist, Petty Officer 3rd Class Zach Bongiorno of Station Belle Isle, echoed Kirchner’s opinion. Bongiorno is a fourth-grade teacher in the civilian world, and understands the impact of good instruction.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “Instead of handing you a binder and saying ‘hey, these are the qualifications you need, go find them,’” said Bongiorno, “The college has created a great opportunity to gather people around and say, let’s focus in on the main skills and we’re going to walk alongside you through the process.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “The Boarding Team Member College solves a problem that many reservists face: how do you piece together enough training opportunities to get qualified quickly? The college brings together a team of trainers and instructors with the goal of providing quality instruction that leads to completion of the Boarding Team Member PQS. The training benefits reservists through the acquisition of new skills and career opportunities, and also leads to more qualified and highly trained members in the ranks of the Coast Guard.”

• U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes, November 12: “Kirchner summarized his experience by saying, “I think these trainings have been good. If this was something I had paid for, I would be satisfied with it.”