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The United States Coast Guard Academy's Swab Summer is a seven-week initiation through which all Cadets are required to pass. It is the Academy's boot camp. Swab Summer is a unique nickname for the program at the Coast Guard comparable to Cadet Basic Training (Beast Barracks) at the United States Military Academy and Plebe Summer at the United States Naval Academy.
The program is intended to emphasize the principles of fellowship, teamwork, seamanship and military life. It also introduces Cadets to the Coast Guard core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty. During the summer, Swabs are both physically and mentally tested. They will run obstacle courses, complete ropes course challenges, and of course do numerous pushups. However, Swabs will also have to be able to learn indoctrination and Coast Guard History extremely quickly, all under the watchful eye of their cadre. Swab Summer is run by 2nd class Cadets (Cadets entering their Junior year) who themselves had just experienced Swab Summer two years prior. These cadre are personally trained on how to lead a boot camp by the Cape May Company Commanders (The men and women who run Coast Guard Enlisted Boot Camp), and are tested themselves during the 100 Week Program to see if they are ready to train the incoming Swabs. At the end of the six weeks, Cadets also spend a week sailing aboard the Academy's cutter USCGC Eagle, the only tall ship in America's active forces.