European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Magazine cadets training on Tow Eoto. U s Crail cute to furling sails aboard the of Leto f Twy Cadet Mutt climb 147 feet to the top of the ship s myst the coast guard Small service High standards by Charles Hillinger los Angeles times he curriculum tha discipline lha physical illness programs Are Tough. Half who enrol never graduate. Last year 7.000 applied for admission 290 Ware accepted. All students there Are on full four year scholarships that include room Board and living allowances almost Alt students were in the top 10 percent of their High school classes. It is one of the most selective colleges in the country the . Coast guard Academy High on a wooded Hill on the shores of the thames River in new London. Conn., a rustic new England seaport. Unlike the three other military academies army Navy and air Force appointments Are made soley on the basis on annual nationwide Competition. There Are no congressional appointments no stale quotas or special categories candidate compete Lor entry based on High school rank and performance on either the Scholastic aptitude test or american College testing assessment. Also Laken Inlo consideration Are the candidate s participation in High school extracurricular activities Community affairs and part time employment. This is a High Quality school. We will match our academic program with the other three military academies and i sincerely believe we will come nut on top said capt. David Sanderl Dean of academics at the Academy. But we also have a Post graduation retention rate thai none of the other military academies can come close to. Of All our alumni 33 percent Are still serving in tha coast guard 10 years after graduation and 70 percent after 20 years or More the coast guard smallest of the military services with Only 4,000 officers 28,000 enlisted personnel and 6,000 civilian employees was founded by Alexander Hamilton and established As the Revenue Cutler service by George Washington in 1790. Hall the coast guard officer corps Are graduates of the Academy which traces its beginning to 1676 when the Revenue Culler school of instruction was started with nine cadets. Today there Are 745 cadets attending the . Coast guard Academy. The freshman year is a Tot like Boot Camp. Freshman called fourth clansmen spend 12 months marching at attention shoulders Back standing straight As an Arrow As they move from one classroom to another or walk anywhere on Campus. At meals they sit rigid in their chairs eyes straight ahead. They cannot look Down at their plates or drinking cups. Upperclassmen discipline the freshmen or swabs As they Are called eyes in the boat bark sophomores juniors and seniors Al the swabs meaning keep those eyes straight ahead Al All times. Of it s really difficult Al first. This May sound Odd but you gel to enjoy in after a  said Richard Mourey a student from los Angeles the reason for it is the discipline. It teaches us self control and re specs for  woman were first accepted As cadets in 1976 it Linda Johansen. 27. Was one of the 14 women to graduate in 1980. Since then she has served four years As a Junior officer 0.two ships a buoy Lender and a sunday August 10, 1986 Cutter. Now she is an administrator of the Cadet corps Al the Academy. I be loved every minute of  cadets get their first Laste of Salt air and life Al sea on America s Only acl tvs Square rigger the 293-foot, three masted Eagle which when under Way. Unfurls 22 sails the Eagle originally built in 1936 As a training vessel for naval cadets in nazi Germany was claimed by the coast guard As a War prize in 1946. Every Cadet is required to climb 147 Leet to the top of the main Mast says James Rudd. 40, one of three to s n mates aboard the Eagle to teach cadets How to sail. Some understandably an not too keen about going up the Mast. But under peer pressure they All make it said Rudd. Tha Academy program is so rigorous thai cadets Are kept Busy irom5 45 am. To 11  a Cadet Hain t finished his Homework he is allowed to take Lale night until 1 am. The value of the four year scholarship is estimated to be $14.000. Each Cadet receives 1480 a month to buy uniforms equipment books and other supplies. There is also a monthly personal allowance ranging from $80 a month for freshmen to $260 for seniors. A graduate is required 1o serve live years As a coast guard officer. Upon graduation a Cadet is commissioned an Ensign and earns $18.000 a year. Peacetime coast guard missions include search and Rescue operations by ships and planes maintaining advanced electronic and other aids to navigation around the world operating ice Breakers for Polar expeditions and keeping Domestic Waterways open in Winter enforcing Marina Laws and merchant Marine safety and maintaining military readiness to fulfil is naval wartime commitment. The stars and stripes Page 13