What should I do?

I don't know what the coast guard or air force has to do with English, or a career involving English, but it's your call.

The only career I can think of involving English is an English teacher/professor, writer, or teaching English as a second language. All of those involve a desk, which you said you didn't want, but they are hands on.

The coast guard and air force definitely don't have a thing to do with a career involving English, other than speaking it.

What about the job of a public affairs specialist? The kind of people who are in the midst of the action and then get to write about it?

Library -- front desk, children's department, tech services (cataloging). There is a huge variety of tasks in each department, plus you will get to interact every day, all day with children and adults.

What about the job of a public affairs specialist? The kind of people who are in the midst of the action and then get to write about it?

Newspaper reporter, columnist, and yes, public affair specialist -- a good command of written and spoken English is needed.

Is that job any more hands on than a normal journalist?

Check out job titles/training/future of the job in this government resource that comes out every two years --

A-Z Index : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

What's your definition of "hands on"?

Public Relations Managers and Specialists : Occupational Outlook Handbook : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics