Congratulations to the Class of 2025

SO much time and effort leading up the Reporting Day but for all of the new cadets-to-be it is worth it. A blistering hot day in New London yesterday but to my relief, at the end of her first swab summer day, my daughter was smiling and loved it. Can't say that was the same for all but I think they will turn around. Really appreciate all of the advice, comments, guidelines, etc. provided by those on this forum.
 
Congratulations to you and, most importantly, your DDs and DSs who have taken their first steps on their USCG journey! This time of year always brings about a certain amount of nostalgia as I remember my own R-Day (before it was Day One). Your kids (adults) are now part of the Long Blue Line, and we are happy to call them one of us. Look forward to those letters, continue to support them, and tell them to keep pushing. I wish I had realized back then just how short seven weeks was, as August will be here before they know it. Tell them to find joy in at least one moment every day, a lot of it can be fun with the right mindset. If it’s okay to ask, what did you as parents think about your Day One experience?

Side note, @ekb1398 , do you happen to know whether there is truth to the rumor that swabs/fourth class no longer square their meals? Just pure curiosity on my part, as changes like those are always interesting.
 
trackandfield08 said:
Congratulations to you and, most importantly, your DDs and DSs who have taken their first steps on their USCG journey! This time of year always brings about a certain amount of nostalgia as I remember my own R-Day (before it was Day One). Your kids (adults) are now part of the Long Blue Line, and we are happy to call them one of us. Look forward to those letters, continue to support them, and tell them to keep pushing. I wish I had realized back then just how short seven weeks was, as August will be here before they know it. Tell them to find joy in at least one moment every day, a lot of it can be fun with the right mindset. If it’s okay to ask, what did you as parents think about your Day One experience?

Side note, @ekb1398 , do you happen to know whether there is truth to the rumor that swabs/fourth class no longer square their meals? Just pure curiosity on my part, as changes like those are always interesting.
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trackandfield08 said:
@ekb1398 would know for sure, but I heard a cadet comment that squaring was coming back.
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Haveaniceday said:
Squaring is back! But the R-day bus ride is gone.....
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Thank you! I saw some photos and was curious about the lack of a bus ride. I’m sure CGA leadership, Battalion Staff, and the cadre came up with something equally appropriate to make up for it.
 
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@trackandfield08 if I'm recalling correctly, squaring is still a thing, but there is much more relaxation in how far the eyes may stray to take a look at your plate to see what they're cutting and putting on their fork before returning the eyes "to the boat" to bring the fork to their mouth and chew.
 
Betelnuts said:
As above, my daughter said the first lunch on Monday was the last non-squared meal... The word on the street is to get lots of bread and put everything into that to get it into your mouth.
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Yep! The ages old trick is to make anything into a sandwich. Finger food like pizza or chicken nuggets for lunch was always the best.
 
ekb1398 said:
@trackandfield08 if I'm recalling correctly, squaring is still a thing, but there is much more relaxation in how far the eyes may stray to take a look at your plate to see what they're cutting and putting on their fork before returning the eyes "to the boat" to bring the fork to their mouth and chew.
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If I remember correctly, you’re a new 2021 grad? What are we going to do now that you’ve commissioned and we have no one else to ask these questions of? 😉 Time to start increasing the amount of active cadet participation on here!

Side note: congratulations! I hope you enjoyed your 30 days of leave (if you are able to) and are preparing to settle in/are settling in at your new unit.

I will admit, I would have been a little disappointed if the tradition had been no more. I’m not opposed to change, but squaring your meals is a mixture of a rite of passage, awkwardness, and unintentional hilarity when it goes awry. Of course, there’s always the awkward moments during the academic year when buffet meals lead to tables with all 4/c cadets and you’re not permitted to talk to each other.

I do like the adjustment of getting more time to focus on getting food onto your silverware. I just avoided certain foods for the whole year to make it easier on myself, the first two that come to mind were cereal and salad.
 
Squaring was somewhat stressful for cadets who came in a little underweight and struggled to gain or even maintain weight during swab summer. I heard there was a realization that some weren't getting calories they needed given all the activity. The relaxed approach might be trying to address that.
 
I posted this in the USNA section of the forum in an already multi-page thread regarding I-Day but wanted to make sure it was seen here as well just in case people were interested. The Class of 2025 is now intimately familiar with then Running Light, a small book they will spend a large portion of the summer studying that contains information regarding Coast Guard history, Coast Guard Academy history, rates and ranks, their chain of command, different specs of CG aircraft & cutters, and so much more.

One section of the RL is dedicated to what used to be called spewage, phrases and responses to certain questions that must be repeated word for word. An example:

How’s the cow?
She walks, she talks, she’s full of chalk. The lacteal fluid extracted from the female of the bovine species is highly prolific to the 2025th degree, Sir/Ma’am.

It may seem silly, but the reason for memorizing things like the above is to develop a habit of taking in and storing information quickly and being able to execute those processes quickly and in the proper order, such as the process to combat a fire on a ship or how to navigate a ship in certain conditions.

Anyway, CaptMJ posted a copy of Reef Points (USNA version) from the early 1970s and it inspired me to do my own search. So, if you’re curious, I found the RL designed for the Class of 1972:

http://cga72.pinedrivetel.com/USCGA_Running_Light_1972.pdf

It’s a fascinating read, somethings have never changed and others certainly have. It’s a window into CGA history and gives you an idea of some of the information 2025 is currently taking in.
 
I was so busy to log on to the Service Academy Forums during our RISE/drop off visit but yes, a belated CONGRATULATIONS to all! I have seen my Waldo-ette a few times now on Pduddy pics, and already sent her letters and boxes. Two weeks down, (5) to go for Swab Summer! GO BEARS!
 
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