cadet blogs

Dear Incoming Swabs of the Class of 2017,

I hope you are all super excited about becoming a cadet here at the USCGA. I know this time last year I had mixed emotions. I was excited about the opportunities that I would get to have, nervous about Swab Summer and upset that I would be leaving home. I'm sure most, if not all of you, are feeling the same things. Believe me, things will get worse before they get better. But I promise all of you can get through it. Just think of all the amazing things you can do at the Academy.

Now that I have a year under my belt here, I thought I would give you some tips for surviving Swab Summer.

1. So here is basically what you do during the day: wake up at 0530, run around and do morning calisthenics for an hour, then breakfast, then trainings, lunch, trainings, dinner, then more trainings and then bed at 2200. Trainings include summer math, honor trainings, sailing, an obstacle course, and intercompany sports. And then of course there is cadre time, where they can do whatever they want with you.
2. Yelling: My main tip here is to remember that the cadre aren't yelling at you to be mean, they are yelling at you to teach you. Don't take the yelling personally. Everyone is getting yelled at. When you get singled out, which you will, it isn't a big deal. Even the best swabs get yelled at.
3. IT (Physical Stuff): Yup, it’s going to be challenging, but anyone can do it. You just need to know you can do it. Nothing that they make you do will be impossible. It has all been done before and the cadre are going to be doing it with you.
4. Memorizing Stuff: I was possibly the worst person ever at memorizing indoc every week. I got yelled at everyday for not knowing it. It’s ok. But really try to learn it because later on in the school year you will need to know it to complete 4/c year.
5. There is some fun. Since I was there during the Olympics, we did our own "Swab Summer Olympics". We had a lot of inside jokes in my company. And my company got really close – almost like a family. We had a 4th of July dinner and we watched the fireworks, which was really fun too. And of course, you will also be on Eagle for a week at the end of the summer. This is a great time to relax a little from the stress of Swab Summer. But remember learn all you can while you are on board Eagle.
6. The Packing List: Don’t bring any more than you have to. However, a few small things you should bring that aren’t on the packing list are lighters, some food, band-aids and paper/envelopes/stamps. Some tips: buy the 2-in-one shampoo/conditioner, ladies please bring lots of hair gel (I mean that you will go through one bottle a week), and pack everything in a backpack or some bag you can wear on your back.
7. The most important thing I can tell you about the summer is to be mentally prepared and mentally sound throughout Swab Summer. That is how I got through the summer. I was ready to tackle the challenges I was faced with. I knew that I could do anything they tasked me with since so many people had done it before me. Just remember how many people have done the same thing that you will be doing. If they can do it, so can you. Also remember all the people whose spot you took. There are plenty of people who applied to be in the Class of 2017 who didn't make it. You are not only going through Swab Summer for yourself, but also for them. And finally remember all the amazing things you will get to do after Swab Summer in your future at the Academy and in the Coast Guard. Right now I'm heading down to Annapolis on a 44-foot sailboat going to participate in an ocean race, the Annapolis-Newport Race. I will be ocean racing until the end of June, then I will be on board Eagle for a month. Just think, you will be doing that in just another summer.

Class of 2017, GOOD LUCK! Don’t give up, remember how many people wanted your spot but didn’t get it because you were accepted instead. You have many awesome opportunities lying ahead in your Coast Guard career. If you have any questions, you can email me at Kayla.M.Ellis@uscga.edu. I'll gladly answer any that you have! Good Luck. And Go Bears!! I look forward to meeting you all in August!

P.S. Don't be afraid of the cadre. They aren't scary, I promise!!! They were my 3/c and they are awesome people.

More about Kayla.

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.

So here I am, another typical Saturday morning at the USCGA for a 4/c. Avoiding the long list of homework I have to tackle over the next 48 hours, I decided to clean up my room (I promise this is totally normal!). In cleaning my room, I found a box of letters I received over Swab Summer. It was so weird to read them all and realize how quickly time flies. I mean, in about a week I will be on my 3/c summer assignment. I felt like I would never become a 3/c and I would be squaring and yelling at clocks forever! My 4/c year is quickly coming to an end – THANK GOODNESS…I mean, oh darn – how sad! Just kidding, 4/c year can really be a bummer. But honestly, as long as you take everything with a grain of salt you should be fine. I decided to dedicate this blog to giving some of advice from what I learned from my past summer for all of those out there anxiously awaiting your own Swab Summer 2013. So, here it goes:

1. Do NOT take anything too seriously. Respect your cadre and learn from them, but don’t overanalyze the comments they may make. They’re there to point out everything wrong you’re doing, but that’s only to make you a better 4/c. Do not think you are a bad person for doing something wrong because at some point you WILL make a mistake. Learn from them, and grow from them. Most importantly, don’t let it get you down.
2. If you feel like you want to quit, just remember everything that made you want to come here in the first place. Keep in mind how proud everyone is of you back home, and never lose sight of the goals that you have.
3. Learn to be flexible. Sometimes things don’t go the way you planned and be ready for that. This one may not make much sense right now, but once you’re here, you’ll get it!
4. Please, only bring what is required on the packing list…really…take this one to heart. Don’t be lugging around unnecessary things on R-Day.
5. If you ever feel like you want to up and leave and just “be normal” or go to “normal college,” please re-think that. Give this place a shot and never quit. Yeah sure, other college kids get to sleep in and wear what they want to class (if they feel like going), but how many of them get to be on the fast track to leadership within the Coast Guard? How many spend their summer training to save lives and make a difference in the world? Swab Summer may feel very inconsequential to your overall officer career, and it might be in the whole scheme of things, but it’s where we (cadets) all have our start, so I think that’s pretty darn significant! Just keep in mind the impact you will have one day within the USCG while you’re doing your pushups because you looked down for 1/5 of a second. :)

As always, if you have any questions about cadet life or Swab Summer (because that was me just a short year ago!) feel free to ask at Allyson.J.Roesch@uscga.edu.

Good luck to all the future swabs and AIMsters this summer!

More about Allie.

Ask anyone here and they will tell you that yes, the Academy is challenging. The fourth class here, including myself, have been working hard since last June. Whether we were running everywhere during Swab Summer, figuring out how classes are run here, studying for Boards, and taking the trash out, we have been on the move for almost a year. To be honest, we are tired. Tired of doing all these things and stand at the bottom of the food chain. We are almost done with our first year and we are excited about summer because it will be our first real opportunity at spending time in the operational Coast Guard. And with this excitement and boredom of our duties here at the Academy, I think we have all forgotten why we are here; I know I did – until recently.

After the tragic event that has recently occurred in Boston, I took the time to remember why exactly I came to the Academy. It reminded me that I came here to protect the people of the United States. I want to make a change in the world. I am sure that most of my shipmates feel the same that I do. We all joined the Coast Guard to make a difference and to protect the United States.

This time a few years ago, I didn’t know what I wanted in life. I didn’t know if I wanted to be a doctor, or a lawyer or possibly a teacher. The hardest decision in my life up to this point was choosing the Academy. It took a while to convince myself that I wanted to be a cadet. But once I realized the opportunities I would have to help others, I knew I had to come here. Now that I am at the Academy, I am proud to say I go here and that I am a member of the United States Coast Guard. Even more importantly I am proud to be an American. Each and every time I hear the Star Spangled Banner, chills run through my body, I want nothing more than to protect the people of America. I am proud to be a Coast Guardsman.

More about Kayla.

As I pause between lots of homework, I reflect on something that has happened to me recently. There was a prospective cadet (a visiting high school senior) in October that came to Echo Company. He was not my prospective cadet, but I found out that he played lacrosse, so we talked a bit. He seemed pretty cool, and we just kept talking about lacrosse, his senior year, and his application process. Eventually we parted ways, and I wished him luck. His almost-required thanks came out, but it seemed to be much more full of gratitude than the other applicants I had talked too. Nevertheless, that was it, and once again concentrated on my own prospective cadet.

Every so often, I do get responses from Academy hopefuls due to these blogs, and they’re great. I love getting in contact with them and wishing them well on their way to appointment or to other tracks of life. Well, a few days ago I got a response from none other than the prospective cadet from Michigan, saying he was in the same situation as I had been in: he was being medically disqualified, but for him, it was about years-old asthma, not non-existent psoriasis. He, too, had already been accepted prior to getting disqualified. What got me was this part of his opening paragraph:

“But yes, I want to attend the USCGA with everything in me, and I don't think I could even bare to get this close just to have it stripped away by something like this. I intend to do everything possible to get to the USCGA.” 

The flashback that came to me was a painful one. When I got my medical rejection letter, I threw it on the ground, ran upstairs to my room, sat on my bed, and just looked at the ceiling. At that very moment, it seemed that everything I had worked for was for nothing. The fact that I knew this kid was feeling that same feeling got me thinking. No one should have to go through that. To be accepted and then denied through medical hurts pretty bad.

I immediately responded, giving all the advice I could about how to approach the situation. We again talked lacrosse (we’re 9-1, by the way) and at this point I really wanted the kid to get accepted. He had everything that I remembered I had going into this place – dreams to go to an elite school while playing lacrosse and ending up with a commission in a U.S. armed service. It’s so easy to forget that’s why we’re here, and how fortunate we are to attend USCGA. It’s a privilege, nowhere near a right or obligation. We continued the conversation until we had said pretty much all that could be said, and he again thanked me and told me he’d update me as soon as there was stuff to be updated on.

For his sake, and mine, I truly hope he gets the waiver. There are kids beyond dedicated to coming here, with expired medical issues that no longer affect them, and still get rejected. Nevertheless, it’s just another roadblock, and no matter what, I have the firm belief that the senior from Michigan will be going places, whether it’s USCGA or elsewhere.

It’s not just the Academy and cadets that have an impact on the prospective cadets. Sometimes those prospective cadets have an impact on the cadets themselves.

More about Sam.