Coast Guard

Books in the Becoming a Soldier series show how new recruits are trained to become members of the U.S. armed forces. After an initial double-page spread involving a fire drill and another introducing a particular enlistee, this volume follows a busload of recruits during their arrival at the Coast Guard Training Center in New Jersey, their placement into companies, their physical conditioning, their education and hands-on training (navigation, first aid, knot tying, guns, swimming), their testing, and their graduation. Company commanders are shown yelling at recruits, while the text explains their purpose in doing so. A few women appear in the photos, and the text makes clear that they are eligible for all jobs in the Coast Guard. Back matter includes brief bibliographies, a glossary, and a page on preparing for a career in the service. With fairly large print, plenty of color photos, and more space devoted to illustrations than to text, the book offers a quick, attractive introduction to the subject.