'New day' for ex-cadets, Coast Guard chief

New London - Weeks before the Class of 2010 arrived at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, Adm. Thad W. Allen took charge of the Coast Guard.

It was only fitting, then, that Allen gave the address for the academy's 129th commencement exercises Wednesday, less than a week before he turns over command of the Coast Guard to Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr., who grew up in Norwich.

"In essence, one of today's graduates will take Admiral Allen's place in the U.S. Coast Guard," Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, the academy's superintendent, said Wednesday.

Allen spoke of the parallel journeys that he and the Class of 2010 have taken. The cadets faced many challenges over the past four years, he said.

"You persevered," he told them, "and you're here today."

Of the 196 graduates, 193 new ensigns will fan out across the country to serve on cutters, in sectors or at flight school, while three international students will return home to serve in their countries' military.

Jaimala Requena will become the first female officer in the Belize Coast Guard Service.

Allen is currently serving as the national incident commander for the Gulf of Mexico oil spill response. He said he will remain in the position even after his change of command ceremony Tuesday at the pleasure of President Barack Obama and Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Allen has tried to modernize the Coast Guard by changing its organizational structure, financial system, logistics and maintenance.

"It has been quite a journey," he said, adding that what the Coast Guard does - from dealing with the earthquake in Haiti to the tsunami in American Samoa and the rescue of more than 40 people off the fishing vessel Alaska Ranger in Alaska - has "never been more relevant and visible in this world."

Bryan Rouleau, a graduate from Old Saybrook, said some of his classmates expected a high-profile speaker from the White House, but he was excited to hear from Allen.

"He's been the commandant for as long as I've been here," Rouleau said, "so it'll sort of bring it full circle."

Allen told the graduates that it is their "duty, when presented with choices, to reconcile opportunity with competency" and their responsibility to live up to their class motto of being the eternal guardians of the sea.

The class stands ready to "answer the call the country put before us, to live a different story for the good of the people we love and the people we'll never meet," said Class of 2010 Distinguished Graduate Matthew Delahunty.

"This day is the end of this story and the beginning of the next," Delahunty said. "A new story begins tomorrow."

Graduates received their commissions with their diplomas. Allen awarded the academy a Coast Guard unit commendation for January 2007 to January 2010, during which time the school produced about 1,000 ensigns who will "serve and strengthen our great nation." The last time the academy received a unit commendation was in 1998.

"It's not an individual award," Burhoe said. "It's for the unit, and it's a testament to everyone here working together."

Shawn Karasevicz, a graduate from Waterford, said the academy experience has been a "long ride."

"I remember how far away 2010 seemed when we started," he said, "but it has been a worthwhile struggle."

Karasevicz said he was disappointed that not all of the 25 relatives and friends he invited would get to see him graduate, since the academy lost power on Monday because of an apparent fault in the distribution system, and heavy rains fell on Tuesday.

There was talk of holding graduation ceremonies inside Leamy Hall, which would accomodate far fewer people, or at nearby Connecticut College. By graduation morning, only two of the halls had electricity, and officials said it may take until the weekend for the academy's facilities staff and Connecticut Light & Power to restore power.

But with only an on-and-off light rain falling Wednesday morning, academy officials decided to go ahead with the outdoor graduation at the academy.

"It's an academy thing," said Sarah Hohnstadt, a graduate from Michigan. "Everything seems to go wrong, but then it comes together at the end for us cadets. It's a fitting end for the past four years."

"It's not gorgeous, but it's not raining," said Melissa Martinelli, a graduate from Florida.

"It is gorgeous," said her friend, Frankie Temple, a graduate from West Virginia. "It's our day."

j.grogan@theday.com