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Guitars 4 Veterans

Lydia Boyer | December 12, 2022

Cadets have the unique opportunity to join a veterans guitar jam session at the nearby Veterans Outreach Center in Norwich, Connecticut. It is one of the many ways in which a cadet can complete their required community service hours, but this event is special because getting to be a part of the Veterans jam session and hearing their stories feels like a privilege not a community service project.

I arrived at the Outreach Center on November 16th. I unlatched my guitar case and was welcomed into the guitar circle. This group of Veterans gathers every Wednesday and immediately I could tell that this was a family rather than a group of strangers. For the hour, we were a part of that family. We played Country Roads, I Sang Dixie, and Country Club while sitting on foldable chairs. One Cadet brought an electric guitar and played different riffs on top of the melody from 15+ acoustic guitars. It was therapeutic for all of us. Our brains only thought about the next chord to play, everything else faded away. This was evident by the smiles on our faces and the carefree laughs that filled the room.

Eventually, the session ended and we stood up to leave. The guitars were put away, but we lingered for a few minutes. In these minutes we learned about the career of those we just played shoulder-to-shoulder with. We heard about the Veterans flying careers and their grandchildren. They shared tips on saving money on airfare. It was a wonderful fusion of different generations and different stories.

About Lydia

Hometown: Gambrills, MD
Major: Civil Engineering
Email: Lydia.A.Boyer@uscga.edu

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.