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Clinic Director’s Tips for Success

The following tips are provided to help you meet the physical demands of Swab Summer with flying colors.

Arrive in the best physical shape you can attain. Soon after arriving you’ll re-take the Physical Fitness Exam (PFE) and must score 165 points or more.
You will need 8 to 12 weeks to get yourself into top shape. We have found that swabs who are not in shape at arrival experience more injuries and illnesses, miss more training, perform poorly, and risk leaving early.

Buy high-quality running shoes fit by a professional and break them in before arriving to prevent blisters.
Have an evaluation by a podiatrist to see if you can benefit from orthotic inserts for your shoes. Inserts will help to prevents shin splints, foot pain, sprains and knee pain. This is especially important if you have flat feet, high arches, over-pronate, or under-pronate. Off-the-shelf orthotics are fine for most people; otherwise, custom orthotics are a good investment.
Run no more than 1.5 to 2 miles per day. You will not have to run more than two miles at a time during when you report to the Academy. Running more puts you at risk for overuse injuries. Instead, for additional aerobic conditioning, do low-impact exercises using a stationary bike, elliptical trainer, ergometer, or swimming. Avoid shin splints by building up your runs slowly.
Do as many high-quality push-ups and sit-ups as you can in two minutes at least twice a day. An additional excellent exercise to do every day is pull-ups.
Learn how to swim and tread water before you get here. Your goal should be to be able to swim 500 yards freestyle and be able to tread water for ten minutes. You will have swim instruction during your first year, and if unable to swim, you will enter a remedial program.
Arrive well within CG weight requirements. Failure to meet these standards may result in immediate disenrollment. For optimum health, attain a Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.9. According to the Center for Disease Control, a BMI of 25 and above is “overweight,” which puts you at greater risk for back, hip, knee, ankle and foot injury during Swab Summer.

REVIEW COAST GUARD WEIGHT STANDARDS

LEARN MORE ABOUT BMI

Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.