cadet blogs

I’m not writing this for you. I feel as though I should start off with that. This entry, this piece of rhetoric it’s not for you. It’s not for prospective cadets, it’s not aimed at cadets or alumni, it’s designed for only one person: me. Tonight is my last night in Chase Hall, the building that I have begrudgingly called home for the last four years. It’s a bittersweet moment. I’ve wanted nothing more than to graduate from this place since the moment I stepped foot in it 1,423 days ago. Though there have been times along the way where I thought I wouldn’t make it…. Where KNEW I wouldn’t make it, and yet here I am: spending my last night in Chase Hall.

If you had asked me at any point from my first day of Swab Summer, up until last week what emotions I would have predicted would be coursing through my veins right now, I would have given you any number of answers: elation, relief, joy, wonderment, maybe even bewilderment, but the only thing I feel right now is sadness. There comes points in every life where we have to move on, but that doesn’t stop us from trying to cling to what we have. Maybe I’m alone tonight in my grief, but something tells me that the rest of my classmates feel it too. Tonight is the last night we will ever be under the same roof. Tonight is the last night we will ever be able to just walk to someone’s room and knock on the door expecting an answer. Tonight is the last time we will live just down the hall from 200 of our closest friends.

So where does that leave me? Right here, right now, writing this last journal entry, trying to sum up all the emotion running rampant in me. The Academy experience has not always been enjoyable, but the people I have met along the way have made it worth every second. Every moment that seemed completely unbearable was overcome with the help of a friend, a classmate, a mentor. I wish now more than anything that I could start the whole grueling experience over again, because now that I’m leaving it, I have a better appreciation for it all. I have twelve hours left of cadethood, twelve hours left of the greatest four years of my life… and I’m going to spend them with my friends.

God bless each and every one of them: my classmates, my friends, my brothers and sisters. I love you all, each and every one of you. We survived, and we survived together, and it has been the greatest adventure that I could have ever asked for.

Thank you.

More about Stephen.

It seems as if the sun never stops shining here in California! I am in Marina Del Rey for my first half of the summer on CGC Halibut to familiarize myself with the fleet and gain some knowledge of the Coast Guard. This is my last cadet summer experiencing time in the fleet and I have taken more of a leadership role. I am shadowing junior officers in the Coast Guard to discover what exactly I will be doing when I graduate from the Academy. I am diligently working on qualifications so that I can eventually become a fully qualified member of the crew by the time I am due to leave Marina Del Rey. It is convenient to be sent to such an amazing location too. Marina Del Rey always has perfect weather and it is just a short distance from downtown Los Angeles.

Once I complete my five weeks on the Halibut, I will be traveling with the CGC Eagle for six weeks as a cadre for the 3/c cadets. I am greatly anticipating my time on Eagle because there are so many great opportunities for me there. We will be visiting amazing ports such as Bermuda and St. Pierre, France! I also will be able to have an ample amount of leadership opportunities on Eagle, which will bode well for my development into being a 1/c cadet. I am very excited for what the summer has to offer and I am even more excited to complete my last year at the Coast Guard Academy!

More about Brianna.

For the 3/c, the week after finals marks the start of their cadre summer. While other classes go out to the fleet to experience the underway lifestyle, the third-class cadets stay onboard the Academy for at least one extra week, getting trained by the Cape May Company Commanders (CMCCs) on how to be effective cadre. This week marks the culmination of the months of preparation 2015 has done in advance of our cadre summer.

I’m not going to reveal too much, because it is one of those experiences that you want to experience firsthand. For a week, the CMCCs, who train the Coast Guard’s recruits at Training Center (TRACEN) Cape May, take charge of each company, like Swab Summer. We spent the first morning reorienting ourselves, and remembering what it was like to be a swab. Remedials suck—I really can empathize with the swabs now. After a few days of “reorientation” (aka IT, remedials, and stress), we really dig into the meat of 100th Week: leadership development.

Part of 100th Week involves meeting with the Leadership Development Center (LDC) staff, the CMCCs, and other such instructors to learn more about leadership and how to apply it to the task of training swabs. These classes have been lots of fun and very informative. Lastly, we have had several opportunities now to meet as cadre sections to develop our leadership and command philosophies. These are important, because they will guide us as we guide the Class of 2017 to success this summer. Working with multiple type-A personalities can be frustrating at times, but the lessons we are learning now will make Swab Summer a much better experience for all involved.

I don’t know what happened, but I wasn’t really nervous about being a 2/c cadre until this week! Before 100th Week, I assumed that I could do it: yes, it might be difficult at times, but I thought I was smart enough and confident enough to assume responsibility and get the job done. Now, having gone through just three days of training so far, I’m not so sure… There are so many things to do, and so much responsibility. This summer really will be a leadership challenge, both for me and my shipmates. I guess what my cadre told me is true, “If you think you’re ready, you aren’t. If you are seriously questioning yourself, you’ll be fine.”

I rapidly come to the conclusion that I cannot wait for 100th Week to be over, so my classmates and I can pin white shields on our shoulders. With these white shields come so many more privileges and responsibilities: civvies (civilian clothing for liberty) AND cadre. After 100th Week concludes, I depart for three weeks of leave and a Holocaust study program before returning to New London for the rest of my cadre summer. I’m really excited—I just can’t really describe the feeling. You would have to experience it for yourself to understand how I feel… Good luck to 2017, and see you all in just a few short weeks!

More about Peter.

Wow... We really made it. The class of 2016 really made it through 4/c year. The seemingly endless year is over. So, you know some days you just get really nostalgic and reflective. Well, now that the school year has come and passed, I have been doing that a lot. This has been, guaranteed, the biggest year of my life in terms of change, and we are about to be thrown into the real world for the summer.

A year ago I was getting ready for, quite frankly, a summer I wasn't looking forward to. My world of sailing and going to school only when I wasn't traveling was nearing its end as I prepared to go to the CGA for Swab Summer. I knew what I was getting into and I knew it was going to be worth it in the long run, but I wasn't totally stoked about not going to "normal college."

Now, looking back, I see that I was honestly just worried about not getting the same experience as my friends. But that's not me, and I wouldn’t change this year for any of that. The friends I've made and my teammates are closer than I think you could get at any other college. We have all been through so much together, so many ridiculous things – squaring, yelling at inanimate objects, and cleaning on Friday nights. It's not always fun, and I thought I would hate it, but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now puts everything in perspective.

It is the last day of class, and I feel like I still don’t even have a chance to come up for air. I’m dead exhausted, but I’m so excited for the summer that I know I can get through it. Spring semester was definitely a lot more chaotic and stressful than the fall for me, but it’s over. I made it. The summer is definitely an experience that I will not forget. My friends at other colleges will never get opportunities like my classmates and I get at the Academy. I have friends going to operational units in Hawaii, Guam, Puerto Rico, Alaska, and everywhere in between. I will be staying around good old Chase for a while, participating in post-season sailing leading up to national semi-finals in Florida, and hopefully qualifying for finals, and Summer Ocean Racing. My classmates and I get to spend our entire summer on the water at some of the coolest places. Personally, I think that beats working to try and pay off student loans.

Sometimes, it is really easy to get buried because the work never stops, but the end is here and we made it! My first year of college is over, and it went by faster than I could have imagined.

As always, feel free to send me any questions at Christina.M.Frost@uscga.edu.

More about Christi.

It’s strange to think that it is almost over. I know I will miss this place (or at least the people) when I am at my next unit, but for now I am just really, really excited to be graduating.

I was sitting at dinner, talking with a 2/c cadet about graduating and they asked me if I felt ready to be an Ensign. I said yes. And while that might sound pretentious, if after four years of training to be an officer I was not ready, I think that would be something to worry about.

There is a common misconception that you need to enter this place as an officer. When I first was accepted to the Academy, my greatest fear (aside from the lack of sleep) was that I was not ready to be an officer. My father informed me that you come to the Academy because they see potential for you to become the most junior of junior officers after four years. For those of you who are questioning if the Academy is the place you want to go to and are questioning if you are able to become an officer, remember you don’t enter these gates as an officer. It takes four years, and if you have put in the effort, you are prepared to leave as one.

This phase of my life is ending and I know it has made me into a stronger, more confident person. The kind of person I wanted to be when I reported in. And as strange as it is for it to be ending, it is really exciting to be able to look both back on the past four years, and forward to the many that lie ahead. t

More about Jessica.