NEW LONDON, Conn. – The U.S. Coast Guard Academy started Swab Summer today as the Class of 2027 reported aboard campus. A total of 300 swabs, including 292 from the United States and eight international cadets, embarked on their transformative 200-week journey to become commissioned officers in the Coast Guard.
Day One marks the traditional start of Swab Summer an intense seven-week basic training program designed to transform civilian students into military members ready to accept the call of safeguarding the nation’s maritime security interests.
Rear Adm. Michael Johnston, the 43rd Superintendent of the Academy, presided over the swabs’ swearing-in ceremony on Washington Parade Field. Johnston took the helm as superintendent on May 26, thus making this freshman class the first exclusively under his leadership.
“As members of the Class of 2027, you represent the next generation of leaders who will bear the weight of defending our nation’s shores, protecting our maritime interests, and upholding our core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty,” Johnston shared during his address at the ceremony.
Swab Summer includes rigorous physical conditioning, seamanship fundamentals, and academic coursework. All of these culminate in shaping the swabs into future leaders ready to serve in the Coast Guard.
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