The Coast Guard is changing the target audience of the Boarding Officer Practical Course (BOPC) to prioritize Reservists. For training year 2025, Reserve Component BM, MK, and ME members E4 through E6 and junior officers are the target audience and the highest priority to attend the four sessions of BOPC. The Maritime Law Enforcement Academy will host four BOPC sessions this year:
- Session #2501: November 12 - November 25
- Session #2502: December 2 - December 13
- Session #2503: February 24 - March 7
- Session #2504: June 23 - July 7
There are two paths for qualification as a Boarding Officer: Basic Boarding Officer Course (BBOC) and Boarding Officer Practical Course (BOPC). BBOC is now 28 training days, a 6-week course, which far exceeds the standard 2-week Inactive Duty Training (IDT) time allocated to each Reservist. The resident portion of BOPC, however, is two weeks making it ideal for Reserve Component (RC) members.
Now is the time to act.
Despite the need for more qualified Boarding Officers in the RC, last year only two ETRs were submitted for BOPC. Commands, RFRS Staffs, and members should start now to be ready to submit requests as soon as the ETR submission process opens on September 15.
Members that are not in the target audience for BOPC must submit a waiver request to Office of Maritime Law Enforcement and receive approval prior to submitting an Electronic Training Request (ETR). Active duty may attend this course only if:
- the quotas are not filled by RC personnel and
- their waiver request has been submitted and approved by Office of Maritime Law Enforcement, Policy and Standards Division.
BOPC is an accelerated course. It is shortened from the BBOC because the prerequisites are higher. To be eligible for BOPC you must be an experienced Boarding Team Member and have completed the Initial Law Enforcement Qualification (ILEQ). The ILEQ exam has 114 questions with a minimum of 78% for ILEQ Part 1, and 90% for ILEQ Part 2.
Prerequisites to BOPC are:
- Complete the Initial Law Enforcement Qualification (ILEQ) available on the Online World of Learning (CG-OWL) – Course 100537
- Be current on Physical Fitness Test (PFT)
- Be current on the Personal Defense Weapon (PDW) qualification, including Judgmental Use of Force Exam (JUFE)
- Meet body composition standards
- Been a command-certified BTM for a minimum of 1 year
- Complete the medical questionnaire
- Been exposed to full-face OC pepper spray in accordance with the Law Enforcement Competency Qualification Manual (LECQM)
- Be assigned to a Law Enforcement Designated Unit
- Have the recommendation of the unit commander to be a Boarding Officer
Submitting an ETR for a Reserve member is not the same as submitting an ETR for an active-duty member. RC members must get approval in the Coast Guard Reserve Training Management System (CGR – TMS) (CAC Required) before submitting an ETR. Once you have approval to submit an ETR, pay special attention to the comments section as it is limited in characters and must include a lot of detail. Use the following example for your comments section entry:
| “RESERVIST (SELRES) Request Sessions #2501, #2502, #2504; ILEQ exam completed: 15JUN2024; PFT completed: 16JUN2024; PDW qualification: 20JUL24; JUFE completed: 21JUL2024; Mbr meets weight; BTM cert 14APR2020; 36 months remaining at current command; RFRS staff POC: LT Chris M. Smith.” |
“We’re getting back to the original purpose of the BOPC course: to support Reservists in getting Boarding Officer qualified,” said CWO Lee Conroy of the Office of Maritime Law Enforcement Policy and Standards Division. “We have a solid number of RC members who, once they complete the ILEQ, are eligible for BOPC. By prioritizing the Reservists for this training, we can greatly increase the law enforcement capability of the RC overall.”
-USCG-
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