New London - The newest cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy wore shoulder boards for the first time Monday, changing them from a “nobody” on campus to a “somebody,” they said.
Swab Summer was over.
”I almost feel kind of important, like I actually mean something here,” said Jacob Gamble, 18, of Lockport, La. “Now I'm somebody. Now I can do my part.”
Swab Summer is an intense, seven-week training program designed to transform civilian students into military recruits and to prepare them for the academic year. The academy's Class of 2012 started with 295 members but dropped to 273 after 22 either did not qualify or chose to leave.
Those who completed the training were rewarded Monday with 4th-class cadet shoulder boards, which are navy-blue pads without stripes to show their standing in the corps.
”Now I feel like a part of the corps of cadets, not that I'm just here seeing what the corps is like,” Mike Francis, 18, of Salem, Mass, said at a reception after the ceremony on Washington Parade Field.
”We're legitimate,” his friend Dustin See, 18, of West Point, Va., added.
Wearing blue uniforms without shoulder boards caused some confusion over the summer when the recruits left campus, especially for the group that flew to California to board the Coast Guard barque Eagle, the academy's training vessel.
”Everyone asked us where the terminals were,” said Chris Monacelli, 17, of Frederick, Md. “They all thought we worked at the airport.”
Michael Sallinger said his summer started off poorly after he realized the weight he lost to run cross-country and his habit of counting calories was not conducive to the academy lifestyle. He could not keep up with the intense physical training, and he was told that he was not giving it his all.
”Then it hit me that I'm no longer a runner, that I'm a Coast Guardsman,” said Sallinger, 18, who previously lived at Ramstein Air Base in Germany with his father, an Air Force chief master sergeant.
Now Sallinger is working with the academy staff so he can gain weight, and he is excited to begin the academic year.
”This is what I've been after for so long,” he said. “Now I'm finally here, and I have to make the most of it.”
Jaclyn Anderson said she was pushed further this summer than she has ever been, comparing the experience to having 50 consecutive bad days because there was no time to rest and she was completely outside of her comfort zone.
”But I'm proud,” said Anderson, 18, of Orange County, Calif. “Our class came together. It made us close because we respect each other, since we all made it through this.”
Capt. John Fitzgerald, commandant of cadets, said the class members did a “180-degree turnaround” from the time they started at the academy.
”They worked hard and they showed a lot of pride in being here,” he said. “They're doing really well.”
The summer regimental staff also turned over the leadership of the corps to the fall regimental staff in a change-of-command ceremony Monday. The outgoing regimental commander was Cadet 1st Class Kevin Keefe, who was replaced by Cadet 1st Class James Daffer.
”They're ready to be cadets,” said Keefe, 21, of Belmont, Mass. “They earned their shoulder boards. I'm proud of them. We're all proud of them.”