New London — "Light trim today?" Bill Maynard joked Monday. Hair clippings were sprinkled on the floor surrounding him.

"Poor guys, so serious," Maynard continued, "we try to give them some humor."

Maynard, 69, has been cutting the hair of Coast Guard Academy cadets for 25 years. Monday was the busiest day of the year for him and the three other barbers as they each shaved the heads of nearly 50 new students or "swabs" for reporting-in day or "R-Day," the start of the academy's seven-week intense training program known as swab summer.

The Class of 2019 represents the largest incoming class since 2011 with 287 U.S. cadets and four international cadets, though that number will likely fluctuate as some cadets do not make it all the way through, even dropping out after R-day.

"Hey, listen, good luck to you. Give it your best shot," Maynard told one young gentleman as he got up from his seat, his head freshly shaven.

He asked the swabs if they were ready, how they were doing, where they were from. When one young man responded he was from North Carolina, Maynard responded, "Home of the sharks," referring to a recent spate of attacks.

"I'd think twice about going out surfing," Maynard continued. "Yes, sir," the new cadet responded.

The room was mostly quiet aside from the buzzing of hair clippers, as the swabs weren't allowed to talk unless told to do so.

"The young man ... I had in my chair was from the Bronx in New York," Maynard said during a quick reprieve from shaving, while waiting for the next group of cadets to come through. "I kidded him with the fact that he's got to be a Giants fan, and he is. I asked him about Deflategate because I'm a big Patriots fan ... and they beat us a couple of times in the Super Bowl, so you try to get that kind of stuff."

During their first day at the academy, the swabs, who are assigned to one of eight companies, rotated by company to different stations: haircuts, uniform issue, drill practice, and completed various administrative tasks.

In his remarks after the swearing-in ceremony, Rear Adm. James Rendon, the 41st superintendent of the academy, who was sworn in on June 3, told the Class of 2019, "You are my class, God willing, the class that will be with me throughout my four-year tour of duty as superintendent."

"So I very much look forward to watching each of you doing your thing this summer. I look forward to watching you work together, to succeed together. I look forward to hearing about your experience aboard the barque Eagle toward the end of the summer. Your successes in the classroom and on the ball fields and in whatever activity you chose to participate in. I look forward to seeing you graduate in four years and receiving your commissions as officers of the United States Coast Guard," Rendon continued.

Rendon is not new to the academy; he served as assistant superintendent from 2010 to 2012.

R-Day marks the start of a relationship that Maynard and other academy employees make with the cadets.

"We have a close bond with them through the four years that they're here," he said. "After they graduate and go on to their career ... even if they don't need a haircut they'll stop by to say hey, let you know what's happening with their careers and stuff like that."

One former cadet, who is now a helicopter pilot, stopped by to have Anthony, known as Tony, who manages the shop, cut his hair. 

"He didn't come here just for that reason, but seeing he was here and Tony cut his hair for four years, the first place he came was the barber shop," Maynard said.

Baker John Sharpe, who is going on 30 years at the academy, started work at 5:15 Monday morning and shortly thereafter began baking 1,000 chocolate chip cookies, about 400 brownies and 300 shortbread cookies for the day.

Monday was the seventh swab summer for Christy Rose, the commandant of cadets' secretary. Over the years, Rose has observed families becoming more involved on R-Day.

"It's extended families," Rose said in an air-conditioned room intended for the parents while taking a break from answering their questions. "It's the grandparents. It's the friends. It's the cousins. It's not just mom and dad anymore."

The most frequent question Rose hears from parents is, "When do they go on leave?" In other words, when do they get to see them again?

In the years to come, the cadets, as others have done in the past, will come to Rose to ask her about car insurance, what they need for their first apartment or home.

"It's an incredible opportunity to see them walk in the doors as young high school graduates and then in the end leave as ensigns," Rose said.

The look on the swabs' faces were blank, at times perhaps frightened or shocked, as second-class cadets, who train the new cadets, barked commands at them.

When they weren't busy doing something else, the swabs stood attentive, holding a small, blue book out in front of them.

The book has various bits of information that they are required to memorize, including the mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.

"If you ask them in seven weeks if they remember R-Day, they'll probably say no," Rose said.

The day is also a whirlwind for the numerous staff members involved as well, many of whom have seen their fair share of R-Days.

Megan Crocker, tailor shop manager, was taking full-body measurements of the cadets, a task she has down by now given it's her 10th R-Day at the academy.

"It's organized chaos basically," Crocker said of the day. "It actually goes very smooth. I see everybody once and it's over before we know it."

Of the cadets she measures, Crocker said they're usually "nervous, sweaty, all polite. Kind of like scared mice."

David McHugh, inventory management specialist, who issues all the uniforms to the swabs, said, "This is like our Super Bowl."

On their first day the cadets get what are called their operational dress uniform, known as the standard uniform, the Navy blue T-shirt and pants.

Something that has shocked McHugh over the years is the varying sizes of the swabs. Uniforms are ordered based on past history.

"The last couple of years, some of these kids are tiny. ... The females are smaller now. Size 4 shoes, c'mon. They don't make that. You got to order that stuff. That's the hardest part," McHugh said, adding that his budget for the year is $2 million.

McHugh worked in admissions at the academy before retiring and returning as inventory management specialist.

"Working in admissions, I realized how difficult it is to get in here," he said. "Their records are unbelievable. I mean they do everything. Great grades, sports, leadership stuff. It's like, man, how'd they find time to do all of this?"

According to the academy, the average GPA for the incoming class is 3.78. Officials reviewed 1,948 complete applications and those who now make up the class hail from 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Nine of the cadets are from Connecticut; of those, two are from New London.

Camisha Moore, 19, spent much of her life living across from the academy that she will call home for the next four years.

"I had a lot of neighbors that worked here and they just made me feel like really prideful and I realized I wanted to come here and serve my country," Moore said as she walked across the Washington Parade Field to say goodbye to her parents, Chet and Swillia Moore, after being sworn in and taking her class picture.

Moore was perhaps more prepared than others for her first year as she spent last year at the Marion Military Institute in Alabama. MMI is the oldest military junior college in the nation and transfers cadets to all five U.S. service academies through its one-year Service Academy Program.

Moore is the first in her family to serve in the Coast Guard. Other family members have served in other branches of the military. She said she's most excited for sea trials, which happen toward the end of the summer, and least excited for abdominal workouts.

j.bergman@theday.com.

Twitter: @JuliaSBergman