Why BM? Because Boatswain's Mates are the largest rate in the Coast Guard, with Machinery Technicians right alongside them — and I'd argue BMs have the coolest job in the service, right up there with ME and AST.
A BM drives the boat. That's the simplest way to put it. Seamanship, navigation, boat handling, search and rescue, law enforcement boardings — when the Coast Guard is doing the work people picture, there's usually a BM at the helm. MEs work law enforcement hand in hand with them, and ASTs are the ones jumping out of helicopters, but the BM is the one getting the crew there and back. It's the rate that touches a little bit of everything, and that's exactly what makes it so influential. Every mission runs through a BM.This one meant a lot to me personally, too. My mom made BM1 in a single enlistment before getting out while she was pregnant with me. So BM isn't just a rate I respect — it's family. It's where I come from. When I sat down to draw this design, that was in my head the whole time.It was also one of the most requested rates from the start. BMs kept asking, and I heard them. And when it finally dropped, it became the biggest rate launch yet — 3 hoodies sold in the first two days, the most hoodies of any rate design so far.So is BM the most influential rate? I'll let you decide. But the size, the job, and the response so far make a pretty strong case.If you're BM, or you love one, this one's for you. Shop the BM Tee and BM Hoodie.
For Coasties, by a Coastie. — Sheff