United States Coast Guard Academy - Tide Rips Yearbook (New London, CT)

Page 30 text:

f-ong horns arc spctil Irtnuini llir itmnttal of arms. ll ' s the same thing every morning. .■I knowledge of signallitig is required. S. jHdoctmatloH I ' crhaps no otlier word used at the Acadeiin covers as much ground as indoctrination. Broadly speaking, it refers to those acti ities vliich tend to replace civilian attitudes and thoughts by Coast Guard mental processes. Nat- urally, the effects of indoctrination are felt most in the underclasses where men are not far away from civilianism. Every phase of a cadet ' s life is influenced by indoctrination. If he has been properly indoc- trinated, he no longer regards regulations as a necessary e il. but as just another of the facts of life. It becomes second naiiuc for a cadet to juniji out of his bed at a bugle call, climb into his coki clothing, care for his personal needs and make a formation in ten minutes time— a fact which may some dav stand him in good stead hen the general alarm soimds on his ship. Immetliately after this process, morning after morning, he is marched to the dock for boat drill on the not- always-still Thames. Here he learns the han- dling of small boats, another usefid art in a C oasi Guard career. At meals upjjerclassmen may plv him with (picstions concerning the service in general— ques- tions which are not considered in the crowded Academy cmricidiuii. I ' ifleen minutes a dav aic dcxoiid to flevilop- ing proficieiuv in tin- maiuial of arms, which adds lo discipline and lo the abiliiv to act in a giou|). . nother fifteeniiiiiHUc |ki iod is based on a sdiedidc designed lo cover such varied topics as service eli(|U(iie, (ire (ighiing and seamansliip

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Zkird Class Cruise The lirsi siuiiUljuti t. ti lo Tail ii the cars of the class of U)4() was that ihice days after rcpor- liiiiJ; at till ' . (ackiii hall liic iiu inbcrs would be stilt on a cruise while the other half staved be- hind and studied. A inonih later the situation woidd be reversed. With heaiis lull ol joy we rolled our work wiiites and s(iiiashed them into a canvas bag, for we were going to sea. Over- burdened with gear we trudged the endless miles to the dock and i)oarded two shi])S v ' hich inuiie- diately reminded us of tales of .Sir Francis Diake and }ean LaFitte. Soon afterwards they became too familiar to us as just the ATL. NTIC and the DAXMARK— words which bring to mind an era of pushing the end of a .swab, polishing brass, jjulling on lines and climbing rigging. The nightlv c ries of liberty party on deck meant nothing to us, for we were the lowliest of the lowly— just swabs. It didn ' t take long for us to become familiar with our new home, though. Soon we almost learned how to be comfortable in a hammock: we had to, sleeping on the deck was an upperclass rate. Too, we learned to recogni e every city on Long Island Sound by its water- front. Sand, snngif anil swriit. The end of ii liiesonw da . W Whiilf So liurUti! 25

Page 31 text:

Diiiihlr time to all formatiotis Uk Present arms. There ' s a spot on your tie. intste.