Manson Brown, Appointed Assistant Secretary of Commerce

THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 30, 2014

President Obama Announces More Key Administration Posts
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key Administration posts:
• Manson K. Brown – Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction, Department of Commerce
Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown, Nominee for Assistant Secretary for Environmental Observation and Prediction, Department of Commerce.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Brown would be responsible for providing policy direction for NOAA’s satellite, space weather, water, and ocean observations and forecast programs.
Brown retired from the Coast Guard in May as the highest-ranking Black officer in the service’s history.
As assistant secretary, Brown would report to NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, who received Senate confirmation in March following a yearlong stint as both NOAA’s acting administrator and associate administrator for environmental observation and prediction.

Vice Admiral Manson K. Brown served as Deputy Commandant for Mission Support for the U.S. Coast Guard from 2012 to 2014. He served as Commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area in California from 2010 to 2012 and as Commander of Coast Guard District 14 in Hawaii from 2008 to 2010. Vice Admiral Brown’s previous tours of duty include Assistant Engineering Officer aboard the icebreaker “Glacier” and command of Coast Guard Sector Honolulu and Group Charleston. In 2006, he assumed command of the Maintenance & Logistics Command Pacific of the Coast Guard, where he had previously served as Assistant Chief of the Civil Engineering Division. In 2004, he served as Senior Advisor for Transportation to Coalition Provisional Authority in Baghdad, Iraq. In 2003, Vice Admiral Brown served as the Chief of Officer Personnel Management at the Coast Guard Personnel Command. From 1999 to 2002, he was the Military Assistant to the Secretary of Transportation. He received a B.S. from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, an M.S. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and an M.S. from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
(Source, MCPO of the USCG Vince Patton, FaceBook page)

London Steverson U S Coast Guard

First, a big SALUTE to LCDR Sea Williams, USCG; she is the driving force behind the corrections and updates to our Official African Americans in the U.S. Coast Guard Chronology History list!
Her recent behind the scenes hard work resulted in "two" recordings into our USCG History for the Honorable Retired Judge London Steverson, (LCDR, USCG, RET)! BZ LCDR Williams!
 http://www.uscg.mil/history/uscghist/African_American_Chronology.asp
 http://www.cgaalumni.org/s/1043/index_1col.aspx?sid=1043&gid=1&pgid=1290

And of course, the sharpest SALUTE I can render, is being given to the Honorable Judge Steverson! He has done so much that has benefited so many, not just in the USCG, but for mankind period! If any of you haven't done so by now, please Google his name to see all the good he has done and continue to do (and check out his blogs-they all make for good reading with nothing but the cold, hard truth).
 http://www.conservapedia.com/London_Steverson
https://www.blogger.com/home

 He's a true warrior! May God continue to Bless our USCG Living Legend! 
http://www.amazon.com/CONDUCT-UNBECOMING-Officer-Lady-Conviction/dp/1460978021
 http://www.amazon.com/socialNsecurity-Confessions-Social-Security-Judge/dp/1449569757
 https://www.facebook.com/notes/london-steverson/for-the-love-of-books/289342491135591?ref=nf

Newest addition to our USCG Black History as of 7/16/2014: 

1972: In July 1972, LT London Steverson became the chief of the newly formed Minority Recruiting Section in the Washington, D.C. During his assignment as Chief of the Minority Recruiting Section he led the largest minority officer recruiting effort (recorded at the time) by recruiting more than 50 minority Coast Guard Academy cadets in a two-year period from 1973 to 1974.

1988: LCDR London Steverson became the first African-American Coast Guard Academy graduate to retire from the Coast Guard. He was the second African-American graduate of the Academy.

http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781155406800

United States Coast Guard Academy Alumni: London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, JR.

ISBN13: 9781155406800  ISBN10: 115540680x

 0  19  0  0  21

 All publicity is good. There is no such thing as bad publicity. It is better to be attacked and slandered than to be ignored. You must not discriminate between the different types of attention. In the end, all attention will work to your favor. Welcome personal attacks and feel no need to defend yourself. Court controversy, even scandal. Never be afraid or ashamed of the qualities that set you apart or draw attention to you. Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in a crowd, or buried in oblivion. Stand out; be conspicuous at all costs. Make yourself a magnet for attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and the timid masses.
Burning more brightly than those around you is a skill that no one is born with. You have to learn to attract attention. At the start of your career, you have to attach your name and your reputation to a quality or an image that sets you apart from other people. This image can be something characteristic like a style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets you talked about. Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star. Attack the sensational, the false, the scandalous, and the politically correct. Keep reinventing yourself. Once you are in the limelight you have to renew it by reinventing ways to court attention.
People feel superior to people whose actions they can predict or control. If you show them who is in control by playing against their expectations, you will gain their respect and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention. Society craves people who stand apart from general mediocrity.

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Chapters:

 London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith, Timothy S. Sullivan, William D. Baumgartner, Thomas T. Matteson, Terry M. Cross, Steven H. Ratti, Edwin J. Roland, Robert E. Kramek, Billy Tauzin III, James S. Gracey, George Naccara. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: 

  London Eugene Livingston Steverson (born March 13, 1947) was one of the first two African Americans to graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1968. 

Later, as chief of the newly formed Minority Recruiting Section of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), he was charged with desegregating the Coast Guard Academy by recruiting minority candidates.

 He retired from the Coast Guard in 1988.

In 1990 London Steverson was appointed to the bench as a Federal Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with the Office of Hearings and Appeals (OHA), Social Security Administration (SSA). Steverson was born and raised in Millington, Tennessee, the oldest of three children of Jerome and Ruby Steverson. 

At the age of 5 he was enrolled in the E. A. Harrold elementary school in a segregated school system. He later attended the all black Woodstock High School in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating valedictorian.
A Presidential Executive Order issued by President Truman had desegregated the armed forces in 1948, but the service academies were lagging in officer recruiting. 

President Kennedy specifically challenged the United States Coast Guard Academy to tender appointments to Black high school students. London Steverson was one of the Black students to be offered such an appointment.

More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=432685

Synopsis:

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. 

Chapters: 

London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith

http://cgachasehall.blogspot.com/2014/07/all-publicity-is-good.html

The Iceman Cometh

Former Head of Coast Guard Appointed as Special Arctic Representative

By: Sam LaGrone
July 16, 2014 5:03 PM

Adm. Bob Papp delivers the 2014 State of the Coast Guard Address on Feb. 26, 2013. US Coast Guard Photo

The recently retired head of the U.S. Coast Guard has been appointed as a special ambassador to the Arctic, according to an announcement from the U.S. State Department.
Retired Adm. Robert Papp will, “lead our efforts to advance U.S. interests in the Arctic Region as the State Department’s Special Representative,” according to the statement credited to Secretary of State John Kerry.
“We set out to find the right American official for this assignment, a distinguished and senior, high-level public servant with broad foreign policy experience and a passion for the Arctic.”
As Commandant of the Coast Guard, Papp was a leading voice on Arctic policy.
Last year, Papp oversaw the issuance of the Coast Guard’s Arctic strategy, led a push for the Coast Guard to procure a new icebreaker for the service and has written extensively about Arctic policy.
“The Arctic Ocean is rapidly changing from a solid expanse of inaccessible ice fields into a growing navigable sea, attracting increased human activity and unlocking access to vast economic potential and energy resources,” Papp said in a speech in conjunction with the Center for Strategic and International Studies in 2013.
Papp retired from the Coast Guard in May.

The Knee-Deep Sailor

Concerning,  An American Tragedy, The Webster Smith Case Is An American Tragedy

Sailor Of The Knee-Deep Navy, wrote:

Typical whining.

Webster Smith demonstrated by his actions that he was not fit to hold an officer's commission.

He put the gratification of his own urges ahead of his duty to his comrades. He is exactly the sort of person who should not be placed in a position of trust and authority.

This time it was banging other cadets after getting them drunk. What do you honestly think he would be doing when he had access to 18 year old female enlisted Coasties and he was their commander?
July 5, 2014

Dear Sailor Of The Knee-Deep Navy,
Thank you for your comment. You are more than kneee-deep in self-righteous ignorance now. You have never met Webster Smith, I would wager. Yet, you presume to judge his character and predict his future behavior.
 Based on what? What you read in the newspapers, or what you read in my book? Would you have made the same or similar predictions concerning General David Patraeus of Commander Dave Koss, or any of the other high ranking military officers who have been forced to resign from lofty positions recently because of sexual scandals?
You obviously read the internet news. I will not recite a list of names. Suffice it to say that General David Petraeus resigned as head of the CIA in the wake of revelations that he had carried on an extramarital affair with his biographer Paula Broadwell.  Commander Koss, voluntarily resigned after revelation that he allowed those around him to engage in politically incorrect hanky-panky.
Commander Koss was a 1991 Naval Academy graduate and veteran naval aviator and who has amassed more than 3,000 flight hours and 740 arrested landings on carriers, and garnered two awards for leadership during his career.
What a waste of talent. I believe that Webster Smith would have had a similarly distinguished career. But you believe that Webster Smith demonstrated by his actions that he was not fit to hold an officer's commission.
You speculate that he put the gratification of his own urges ahead of his duty to his comrades. And then you declare that he is exactly the sort of person who should not be placed in a position of trust and authority.
You are running over with stereotypical conjecture and devoid of any evidence of critical and objective thinking. I have met your type of mentality many times in my 24 year military career, and I am happy that there are not many like you left out there.
Well, sir, you are entitled to your own opinion; but, you are not entitled to make up your own facts. Nowhere was it reported that Webster Smith  was banging other cadets after getting them drunk. In all of the incidents reported in the case, it appeared that the cadets involved took advantage of lax Academy policies and Regulations concerning off base alcohol consumption.
I honestly think that Webster Smith would do the same as most college graduates once they past through the phase of teenage drinking and sexual exploration; that is, that he would move on to more mature and career enhancing pursuits.
Webster Smith was an exceptional cadet with a magnetic, and charming personality. He was a gifted man, who had risen above his circumstances. I suspect that as a commissioned officer he would continue to distinguish himself. I doubt that he would soil his record with any of the 18 year old female enlisted Coasties that I have seen. Not because they are not worth it, but because he is a better man than that and none of them could hold a candle his wife Lindsey.
Thank you for your opinion, but you should wade a bit further out into deeper water until it covers your brain, clears your vision, and refines your thinking.
 I hope I have not insulted you or burst your bubble. I respect your courage to come forward and take a position on the record.
 It is so hard to get an open and frank discussion of sensitive subjects in this politically correct age of left leaning liberalism.
You and I differ on our opinions of Webster Smith, but I believe we share old fashioned sentiments concerning duty, honor, patriotism; and, love of God and country.
We respect the sanctity of borders, languages and culture. I would like to hear from you again on this Blog.
So, I wish you fair skies, favorable winds, and a following sea out there on the Sea of Life. And remember, if you do not have a destination, there can be no favorable wind.
Judge L. Steverson, USALJ (Ret.); LCDR, USCG (Ret.)

All Publicity Is Good

United States Coast Guard Academy Alumni: London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, JR.

ISBN13: 9781155406800  ISBN10: 115540680x

 0  19  0  0  21

 All publicity is good. There is no such thing as bad publicity. It is better to be attacked and slandered than to be ignored. You must not discriminate between the different types of attention. In the end, all attention will work to your favor. Welcome personal attacks and feel no need to defend yourself. Court controversy, even scandal. Never be afraid or ashamed of the qualities that set you apart or draw attention to you. Everything is judged by its appearance; what is unseen counts for nothing. Never let yourself get lost in a crowd, or buried in oblivion. Stand out; be conspicuous at all costs. Make yourself a magnet for attention by appearing larger, more colorful, more mysterious, than the bland and the timid masses.
Burning more brightly than those around you is a skill that no one is born with. You have to learn to attract attention. At the start of your career, you have to attach your name and your reputation to a quality or an image that sets you apart from other people. This image can be something characteristic like a style of dress, or a personality quirk that amuses people and gets you talked about. Once the image is established, you have an appearance, a place in the sky for your star. Attack the sensational, the false, the scandalous, and the politically correct. Keep reinventing yourself. Once you are in the limelight you have to renew it by reinventing ways to court attention.
People feel superior to people whose actions they can predict or control. If you show them who is in control by playing against their expectations, you will gain their respect and tighten your hold on their fleeting attention. Society craves people who stand apart from general mediocrity.

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Chapters:

 London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith, Timothy S. Sullivan, William D. Baumgartner, Thomas T. Matteson, Terry M. Cross, Steven H. Ratti, Edwin J. Roland, Robert E. Kramek, Billy Tauzin III, James S. Gracey, George Naccara. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: 

  London Eugene Livingston Steverson (born March 13, 1947) was one of the first two African Americans to graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1968. 

Later, as chief of the newly formed Minority Recruiting Section of the United States Coast Guard (USCG), he was charged with desegregating the Coast Guard Academy by recruiting minority candidates.

 He retired from the Coast Guard in 1988.

In 1990 was appointed to the bench as a Federal Administrative Law Judge with the Office of Hearings and Appeals, Social Security Administration. Steverson was born and raised in Millington, Tennessee, the oldest of three children of Jerome and Ruby Steverson. 

At the age of 5 he was enrolled in the E. A. Harrold elementary school in a segregated school system. He later attended the all black Woodstock High School in Memphis, Tennessee, graduating valedictorian.
A Presidential Executive Order issued by President Truman had desegregated the armed forces in 1948, but the service academies were lagging in officer recruiting. 

President Kennedy specifically challenged the United States Coast Guard Academy to tender appointments to Black high school students. London Steverson was one of the Black students to be offered such an appointment.

More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=432685

Synopsis:

Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. 

Chapters: 

London Steverson, G. William Miller, Thad Allen, James Loy, Bruce E. Melnick, Harvey E. Johnson, Jr., Erroll M. Brown, James C. Van Sice, Chester R. Bender, Peter Boynton, J. William Kime, Charles D. Wurster, Owen W. Siler, Daniel C. Burbank, Thomas H. Collins, Paul A. Yost, Jr., John B. Hayes, Willard J. Smith, Timothy S. Sullivan, William D. Baumgartner, Thomas T. Matteson, Terry M. Cross, Steven H. Ratti, Edwin J. Roland, Robert E. Kramek, Billy Tauzin III, James S. Gracey, George Naccara. 

Excerpt:  

Wilbert Joseph Billy Tauzin III was born December 1, 1973 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, the son of Congressman Billy Tauzin and Gayle Clement Tauzin. After graduating from Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, VA, as a National Honor Society Student and 3 sport lettermen (football, wrestling and lacrosse), Tauzin accepted an appointment to the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. After quitting the Coast Guard Academy his junior year, Tauzin finished his bachelor's degree in marketing at Louisiana State University in 1996. That summer he applied for and accepted an entry-level position selling wireless phones for Bell Atlantic Wireless in suburban Virginia. Three promotions later, he moved to outside sales in Rockville, Maryland. When the desire to return to his home state overwhelmed him, he applied for and accepted a job in Metairie, Louisiana as a Corporate and External Affairs Manager for BellSouth. In a decision that provoked internal dissension in the Louisiana Republican Party, the 30-year-old Tauzin was endorsed by the Republican Party executive committee as its candidate to fill the open seat caused by his father's 2004 retirement from the United States House of Representatives due to his battle with pancreatic cancer. Tauzin bested a crowded ...

Affirmative Action In America

Affirmative Action works. Public opinion polls suggest that most Americans support affirmative action, especially when the polls avoid an all-or-none choice between affirmative action as it currently exists and no affirmative action whatsoever.

Say it loud, "I'm Black and I'm proud!". Obama was the first Black President. And Obama is the first Affirmative Action President.

Many of America's "Black Firsts" were allowed to become "Firsts" because of Affirmative Action. By any other name, it would be the same. Ability without opportunity is wasted. It is futile and unproductive to have a talent and never get the opportunity to use it for the benefit of humanity.
When many others are as qualified for a coveted position and a Black or other minority group person is chosen for the position, there is a strong possibility that Affirmative Action played a part in the selection. That is nothing to be ashamed of.

Jackie Robinson was the first Black professional major league baseball player. Jackie Robinson was an Affirmative Action Baby.
 http://www.jackierobinson.com/

Thurgood Marshall was the first Black lawyer appointed to be an Associate Justice of the U S Supreme Court. President Lyndon Baines Johnson made Justice Marshall an Affirmative Action Baby.

http://www.biography.com/people/thurgood-marshall-9400241
Johnson claimed that the reason he did not run for another term as President was because he had lost all of his Southern Support because he appointed Marshall to the Supreme Court; as the Southern politicians said, "it was because he put his nigger on the Court".

So, the escalation of the Viet Nam War had nothing to do with Johnson pulling out of the Presidential Race.

Wilt Chamberlain was an Affirmative Action Baby. Chamberlain and Bill Russell were the First Black superstar NBA Basketball players.
http://www.nba.com/history/players/chamberlain_summary.html

Wilt was a pretty good student. He was capable of a gentlemanly "C", as was said about President John F. Kennedy.

I was an Affirmative Action Baby.

Like Wilt, I was capable of a gentlemanly "C", but I got mostly A's and B's.
http://www.powells.com/biblio/9781155406800
I was the beneficiary of a program designed to redress the effects of past discrimination. So were Jackie Robinson, Wilt Chamberlain, Constance Baker Motley, Spottswood Robinson, Thurgood Marshall, Eric Holder, and President Barack Obama; and so are many Americans of African descent who were pioneers in their fields.


http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm
Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion, whereas affirmative action is an effort to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion. The most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make special efforts at inclusion, which is exactly what affirmative action does. The logic of affirmative action is no different than the logic of treating a nutritional deficiency with vitamin supplements. For a healthy person, high doses of vitamin supplements may be unnecessary or even harmful, but for a person whose system is out of balance, supplements are an efficient way to restore the body's balance.

Some may take umbrage or offense at my use of the term because it has become so politically charged and may not be politically correct; however, Affirmative Action works. It is easier to implement than Reparations.
Affirmative Action allows America to make a partial down-payment on a debt owed to the children of the builders of America. To many it is a dirty word or two, but Reparations would not sound as sweet. Germany paid the Jews; America paid the Japanese; and America will have to pay the children of the African slaves who built America's wealth, if Affirmative Action is abandoned. How else will we make up for past discrimination against African Americans?

Swab Summer 2014 for the Class of 2018.

For newest Coast Guard cadets, first day is no picnic

By Izaskun E. Larrañeta and Greg Smith
Publication: theday.com

Published June 30. 2014 11:52AM   Updated July 01. 2014 2:33PM

Sean D. Elliot/The Day

United States Coast Guard Academy Cadets Second Class Aurimas Juodka, left, and Sheila Bertrand get in the face of "swab" Kevin Lennox as Bravo Company finishes at the barber shop and mailroom during R-Day, the reporting-in day that marks the beginning of the 7-week "Swab Summer" for the class of 2018 Monday, June 30, 2014. About 250 prospective cadets, Swabs, start the program designed to indoctrinate them to the military life of the academy and at the end will be accepted into the corps of cadets.

New London — At first glance, the screaming and yelling happening at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Monday seems rough, bordering on cruel. 

But the reality is that military life isn’t easy. It’s not meant to be comfortable. The men and women who will serve their country through the Coast Guard will go through rigorous training that many civilians cannot begin to comprehend. 

And on Monday, the first day for the Class of 2018, also known as reporting-in day, the new students, called “swabs,” got their first glimpse of what the next seven weeks would be like. 

By 3 p.m., they were marching in groups across the front parade field of the academy in cadence with the U.S. Coast Guard Band before a crowd of family and friends. 

Then, Rear Admiral Sandra L. Stosz, the academy superintendent, administered the oath of office. With an “I do” uttered in unison, 263 cadets were sworn in as members of the U.S. Coast Guard. 

The final count of fourth-class cadets who took the oath included 256 U.S. citizens and seven international students who are part of an exchange program to promote a spirit of cooperation with foreign governments and their maritime organizations. 

“Welcome to the Coast Guard Academy and the Coast Guard Family,” Stosz said. “The Coast Guard Academy’s motto, ‘The sea yields to knowledge,’ is one of challenge and inspiration. Over the next four years, the Class of 2018 will develop the knowledge and skills needed to achieve proficiency and excellence as they prepare for public service in a challenging maritime domain.” 

Those who survive the summer of training will receive their shoulder boards, marking their formal acceptance into the corps of cadets. 

Cadets also will be mentored by Coast Guard Academy graduates from the Class of 1968, continuing a tradition known as “the link in the chain,” in which past graduates track new cadets and build relationships with them, sharing advice and a historical perspective. 

But when they arrived Monday morning, the aspiring cadets were on their own. 

“Look straight ahead,” shouted Second-Class Cadet Aimee Valencia, who is training swabs in Delta Company. “From now on, there are no more personal pronouns. No more I, me or we.” 

Prior to Valencia’s instructions, the company exited a yellow school bus, followed a blue tape on the floor and ran into the quad at Chase Hall as Cadre members, who will train the cadets, yelled, “Move with purpose,” “Don’t run,” “Don’t look at me.” 

Valencia said she can’t remember her first day, saying it was a “blur” and “stressful.” She said the young men and women will mature by the time their training is over. 

“It’s not about who they were before they came here,” she said. “It’s about who they are going to be. It’s about building them up.” 

Thirty-three percent of the Class of 2018 are from underrepresented minority groups and 37 percent are women. 

The incoming class has the greatest representation of U.S. states — 48 — in at least 20 years. In addition, the class includes members from the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Maldives, Honduras, Gabon, Panama, Thailand and Mexico. 

The swabs cycled through haircuts, uniform issue, drill practice and various types of administrative processing. 

Swab Daria McKenna of Mystic is following in the footsteps of her parents, Tamara and Robert, both graduates of the Coast Guard Academy. 

“There has been a little yelling and that’s to be expected,” McKenna said. “My parents told me what I should expect, so I think that will help. I hope.” 

The Chase Hall barracks rang with the voices of upper-class cadets yelling instructions at the swabs, who had to stay in the center of the hall and square — sharply pivot — around each corner, all while looking straight ahead and greeting people correctly. 

They became quickly acquainted with new terms they needed to know immediately: The floor from now on will be referred to as the deck. What used to be the wall is now the bulkhead. The number five is now “fife” and nine is now “niner.” 

The Cadre members of Echo Company were quick to remind swabs that their past is exactly that. 

“I don’t care if you had perfect SAT scores or (were) captain of every team in high school,” one cadre member screamed. “You are ours now. You will act as a team.” 

The swabs turned over their electronic devices, which were tossed into plastic bags. They will not have access to the outside world. From 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., their lives will be consumed with learning everything about the academy. 

On their first day, they also were expected to read from their manuals, the “Running Light,” and to memorize the Coast Guard’s mission statement. 

First-Class Cadet Drew Ferraro, Echo Company’s commander, said the swabs would be disoriented but, through constant repetition, they would learn the commands and the proper way to address their superiors. 

“This is not about weeding people out,” Ferraro said. “This is about teaching them about military life. It’s different from the civilian world.” 

In a trailer on the quad at Chase Hall, barbers gave buzz cuts to the men. There are no special requests; every haircut is the same. 

Bill Maynard has been giving swabs their first haircuts for 25 years. He tries to lighten the moment, telling to take off his glasses so the young man wouldn’t see the damage being done. 

Maynard says he tries to get them to smile because he knows their first day is stressful. 

“These are wonderful young people to deal with,” he said. “They are pretty excited to be here, except on their first day.” 

Swab Jacob Sorenson of Oakdale was at the cadet store, where he was issued three pair of shoes. His father is a 1988 Coast Guard Academy graduate. 

He said he went to a military prep school last year to prepare for the rigorous training at the academy. But, he acknowledged, “It’s going to be a long seven weeks.” 

i.larraneta@theday.com 

g.smith@theday.com