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Say Hello To the Roboboat “Rookie Of The Year”

Stefanie Senkow | March 27, 2024

The results are in, and the Coast Guard Academy took home “Rookie of the Year” at this year’s Roboboat competition in Florida. Team CGA, comprised of First Class Cadets Edward Ratliff, Sierra Barbee and Ellie Hiigel, built and tested an autonomous boat to showcase in this year’s competition.

“The goal of our project was to demonstrate to the Coast Guard various autonomous capabilities,” said Hiigel. “The Coast Guard does have some autonomous sail boats that they use for data collection. The findings of our project help to augment that research. Additionally, because fully autonomous vessels are so new, we are using our project to help the Coast Guard narrow down policies and procedures regarding autonomous vessels to implement and enforce.”

Team CGA’s autonomous vessel competed in four tasks including Follow the Path, Navigate the Channel, Docking, and Duck Wash. This is the Team’s second year competing. The first year cadets presented a technical rendering of a vessel; this year, they presented the real thing.

“Getting the opportunity to see all the other schools compete and bounce ideas off them was particularly useful for the future development of our boat. The feeling of satisfaction and all our hard work paying off this year by winning ‘Rookie of the Year’ was amazing,” said Ratliff.

Beyond representing the Coast Guard at the competition, Team CGA can see the real applicability of their project to Coast Guard operations, as they all await graduation and becoming commissioned officers this coming May.

“If we were able to collaborate with the Coast Guard’s Program office, working on artificial intelligence supporting safe navigation, our vessel’s output may be able to assist the program with additional data points to support navigate-safely programing,” said Barbee.

“I want to apply the skills I gain to make a positive impact. Whether it’s working on innovative projects like Roboboat or being part of a flight crew, I’m excited to contribute and experience different aspects of the Coast Guard after I graduate. Being part of the RoboBoat competition has pushed me to dive into challenges head on and trust in myself and my team knowing that we will succeed,” said Hiigel.

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.