Academy Dreams
Hamilton Hall, a brick building with a white clock tower, on a summer day

USCGA · Life at the academy · Year 1 of 4

Fourth class yearU.S. Coast Guard Academy · Fourth class

What year 1 of 4 at USCGA looks like: milestones, training, privileges and the service commitment, from official USCGA pages.

Hamilton Hall at the Coast Guard Academy, July 2008. Photo: US Coast Guard Academy via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.

What this year is like

Fourth class year starts with seven-week Swab Summer, including a week aboard EAGLE. Fourth class cadets learn to follow, stand duty and finish at the Fourth Class Qualification Board.

Focus
"Learning to follow effectively." Fourth class cadets "serve as followers"12.
Duties
"standing duty, performing orderly duties, and yielding to upper classmen"1.

Key milestones and events

  • Day One
  • Swab Summer
  • Shoulder board ceremony
  • 100th Day
  • Fourth Class Qualification Board
End of the year
the Fourth Class Qualification Board, "signifying your readiness to progress"1. On 100th Day, fourth class cadets are "kings for a day" over second class cadets3.

First summer: Swab Summer

Length
"a period of seven weeks, one of which is aboard America's Tall Ship Eagle"4. USCGA calls it "the most difficult and demanding period of military training you will experience as a cadet"4.
What it's like
"Seven weeks similar to bootcamp," plus one week on EAGLE learning basic mariner skills and how to work as a crew1.
Day One
The Class of 2029 reported on June 30, 20255.
Becoming a cadet
official pages name different places. At the start of the academic year, Swabs become fourth class cadets in a shoulder board ceremony. The Fourth Class Year page puts it on "Washington Parade Field"1. The Traditions page puts it in "Crown Park"3.

Academics and training

Daily routine
Reveille, morning and afternoon formations, classes, a family-style lunch treated as training, daily athletics, evening study, and taps at 2200 (10 p.m.)6.

Privileges

Privileges
USCGA's public pages don't publish liberty, leave, or car rules by class year, so we don't list them. Ask Admissions or check the cadet regulations if USCGA makes them available.

Service commitment

When it becomes binding: We didn't find this point stated on the official pages we reviewed. Ask the academy.

Memorize before you report

The USCGA knowledge book and flashcards

What the book is, what to learn before day one, and a flashcard deck from official pages.

Sources

  1. Fourth Class Year (uscga.edu)
  2. USCGA: Mission (uscga.edu)
  3. Traditions (uscga.edu)
  4. USCGA: Swab Summer (uscga.edu)
  5. DVIDS, U.S. Coast Guard photo caption (dvidshub.net)
  6. USCGA: A Day in the Life (uscga.edu)

Official pages change. Confirm details with USCGA before you plan around them.

Still in high school?

See what to do each year, from freshman year to reporting day, for USCGA.

High school, year by yearUSCGA overview