Home / Cadet Blogs / Off to Africa! (Part 1 of an ARP Story)

Off to Africa! (Part 1 of an ARP Story)

John Taylor | May 15, 2023

John Taylor

I am currently sitting in the Paris-Charles De Gaulle airport, having just flown in from JFK, waiting for my flight to Dakar, Senegal. I am travelling with 4 of my fellow first-class government majors and CGA’s professor of International Relations and African Politics, Dr. LaMonica, part of our capstone project (called Advanced Research Projects in the Government Major).

Every cadet at the Academy will complete a project as part of a “400-level” senior class, but every year there are additional special projects that a small group works on for the whole year. In the government major, there are always chances to intern with the CT state legislature, as well as one focused project on the Arctic and another on Africa.

For our project, which helps support real research at DoD’s AFRICOM, we have spent all year studying maritime threats in West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea and each country’s capacity to respond to them. Chief among these maritime threats is Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported Fishing, something the Coast Guard combats worldwide. In Senegal, this issue is of particular importance, as fish are the nation’s primary source of protein, and the losses to their economy can be calculated over $300 Million. That being said, Senegal has had some key recent successes in combatting the issue, which made it an important case study for our research.

Though we may have months of research under our belts, we are still missing any hands-on experiences with the issue. Not only that, but none of us, except for Dr. LaMonica, have ever been to Africa, or a majority-Muslim country. Senegal is also a French and Wolof speaking country, and while I have taken French classes for many years, including at Connecticut College as a cadet, I have never been fully immersed into a francophone community and am excited to have such an opportunity. Our collective inexperience underscores the value of this trip to the project, while explaining the underlying nerves I feel sitting at the gate, waiting to board a plane flying into what can feel like a whole different world. I cannot wait to see what we all learn!

About John

Hometown: West Hartford, CT
Major: Government
Email: John.R.Taylor@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.