Coast Guard Boot Camp: What to Bring and How to Prepare

Use the current Helmsman and packing instructions your Coast Guard recruiter provides to prepare for Cape May. Your priorities are required documents, approved personal essentials, physical readiness, water confidence, and assigned knowledge.

The Coast Guard describes standard recruit basic training as an eight-week course at Cape May, New Jersey, and specifically recommends studying the Helmsman before arrival. Official Coast Guard basic training guide.

Sources checked September 14, 2026. This article concerns standard enlisted recruit training. It is not a DEPOT packing list. Your current orders and recruiter-issued instructions take precedence over a general article or an older public handbook.

Which Helmsman Should You Use?

Cape May hosts an undated public Helmsman PDF. It is useful for understanding how the handbook separates issued items, permitted belongings, and contraband. It should not be used by itself to establish today's clothing quantities, cash recommendation, phone policy, or fitness standards.

Ask your recruiter to identify the edition and any updates that apply to your ship date. Save that version for your final bag check. If you have already bought something based on another copy, compare the two before removing tags or packing it.

Coast Guard Packing Review: Documents First

The following is an EnlistiQ review worksheet, not an additional authorized inventory. Use it to check the items in your current packet. Military OneSource's general basic-training guidance supports reviewing identification, orders, banking, medical, and applicable family records with your recruiter. Official document overview.

Area	What to organize or confirm
Identity	Required photo identification and Social Security card
Travel	Issued orders, itinerary, reporting details, and delay contacts
Banking	Direct-deposit information, a working bank card, and your current cash instructions
Family records	Any required marriage, divorce, dependent, or name-change documentation
Medical and vision	Required records, eyewear, prescriptions, original packaging, and documentation
Clothing and personal care	Permitted travel clothes, underwear or sports bras, hygiene products, and hair accessories in the specified quantities

Keep required documents accessible during travel. Mark originals separately from copies so you can spot a missing original before departure.

For clothing and personal products, compare each item with the current Helmsman. Ask which items you bring, which are issued, and which can be purchased during training. This avoids paying for duplicates you cannot use.

What Not to Bring

The public Helmsman identifies weapons, alcohol, illegal drugs and paraphernalia, tobacco products, food or beverages, glass containers, and pornography as contraband. Confirm the full current prohibited list with your recruiter rather than assuming unlisted products are permitted. Cape May public Helmsman.

Get explicit instructions for your phone, charger, watch, running shoes, supplements, and any medical or hygiene product you use regularly. Avoid expensive personal gear and unnecessary electronics while those questions are unresolved.

Prescription treatment needs a separate conversation: ask your recruiter about reporting and packing, and your clinician about treatment decisions. Do not leave a prescribed medicine behind or stop taking it solely because of this guide.

Prepare for Water Training Early

The Helmsman describes water survival and swim qualification as part of recruit training. Treat water confidence as something to discuss before you ship, not something to hide. Coast Guard recruit handbook.

If you are uncomfortable in the water, tell your recruiter and arrange instruction with a qualified swim teacher in a supervised pool. Explain your starting level honestly so the instructor can teach appropriate skills.

Do not copy platform jumps, underwater endurance challenges, or clothing-inflation drills from a video. Military qualification activities belong with trained instructors and the required supervision.

For other fitness preparation, ask for the current recruit events and standards. Do not pull a score chart from the undated handbook and assume it remains current. If pain, injury, or a medical condition affects your preparation, consult a clinician and keep your recruiter informed.

What to Study for Cape May

Use the knowledge assignments in your recruiter-issued Helmsman. The public handbook includes General Orders, nautical terminology, military time, customs, and other introductory military knowledge. Helmsman knowledge sections.

An EnlistiQ study routine can be short and repeatable:

1. Choose a small section of assigned material.
2. Read it carefully and identify the exact wording you need to learn.
3. Close the handbook and recall the answer.
4. Correct mistakes immediately using the assigned copy.
5. Review yesterday's weak points before adding new material.

Practice responding accurately without rushing. Being able to recognize a term on the page is different from being able to recall it when someone asks.

Help Your Family Prepare Too

Cape May's current FAQ allows letters and appropriate small photos, discourages care packages, and says recruits cannot keep packages containing civilian clothing, toiletries, or food. It also gives the mailing format and family emergency guidance. Cape May recruit and family FAQ.

Share that page with family before you leave. Ask them to wait for your correct company and address details and to follow updated instructions if your training status changes.

Finish a practical handoff covering bills, mail, pets, transportation, and urgent responsibilities. The Coast Guard says pay is deposited automatically during training; confirm your banking setup, and do not make home obligations depend on constant phone access. Coast Guard basic training overview.

Final Departure Checklist

• Current Helmsman edition and any supplemental instructions confirmed.
• Required documents and bank information checked.
• Travel clothing and approved personal items packed to the current list.
• Issued-item questions resolved before buying duplicate gear.
• Medication, vision, and phone instructions clarified.
• Recruiter informed about water-confidence or fitness concerns.
• Family has official mail and emergency guidance.
• Meeting time, itinerary, and travel-delay contact confirmed.

Common Questions

Is the DEPOT packing list the same as standard boot camp?

Do not assume so. Cape May publishes separate DEPOT guidance for that program. Use the instructions for the course you are actually attending.

Can my family mail supplies I forgot?

Check the current Cape May rules and ask through the proper training channels. The family FAQ discourages care packages; a package arriving does not mean its contents can be kept.

Where can I practice Coast Guard knowledge?

Open EnlistiQ Boot Camp Prep and select Coast Guard. Study before departure using your current Helmsman alongside the practice. Compare packing guides for all six branches, or review Coast Guard ASVAB requirements if you are still qualifying.