, ,

BTU #388 - Coast Guard COOL (Mike Reynolds & Cristy Minshew)

, ,
“The CA program can help cover credentials that are related to a member’s rating. It can also help pay for out-of-rate assignment, collateral duties, or your academic degree. Now, remember, we don’t pay for training materials, or tests, our prep courses, we fund enlisted members, active duty and selective reservists. However, we don’t fund officers at this time.”
— Mike Reynolds

Subscribe on: iTunes | Stitcher | Google Play            Enjoy the episode? Review us on iTunes!

Why Listen:

This is the third installment in our series where we are taking a deep dive into each branch’s credentialing assistance program. Today we talk with Mike and Cristy from Coast Guard COOL. This is a relatively new program that was stood up in January 2020, but it already has over 1,500 credentials available for Coast Guardsmen.

Here's the program in a nutshell:

  • CG COOL funds enlisted members only (active and selected reservists) and can help pay for exam, application, state licensing, membership and renewal fees.

  • The exam has to be related to service member’s rating, out-of-rate assignment, collateral duty, or academic degree.

  • There is no dollar amount cap on the cost of credential.

  • CG COOL only funds one exam attempt per credential and effective 1 March 2021, service members can have up to two approved funding requests per FY.

  • There is no additional duty service requirement for utilizing this resource and there is no recoupment if the service member fails exam.

If you’re in the Army, you can find your deep dive in Episode #383 and if you’re in the Navy, you can find yours in episode #387.

About Mike:
Mike Reynolds served in the Navy Reserves for 4 years as a Seabee and then 11 years in the Army in telecommunications. Notably, he served in the Pentagon and the White House during the Clinton and Bush administrations, separating in 2002. Mike has been with the federal government since 2008, working for both the Air Force and Army in educational roles. He has been with the Coast Guard since 2019 and serves as the Coast Guard's COOL Project Manager. He holds a Masters in Education in Teaching and Learning from Liberty University.

About Cristy:
Since January 2020, Cristy Minshew has been a Team Lead for the Coast Guard credentialing program, managing daily operations, metrics, funding and execution. Prior to working for the Coast Guard, Cristy spent 12 years serving in a variety of roles with the Navy's Voluntary Education Program. Additionally, she's a former Army MilSpouse and holds a BS in Education from Old Dominion University.

Selected Resources:

Transcript & Time Stamps: