Cutter badgered his congressmen for two years to get into Annapolis. Then realized his family lacked two essential ingredients: power and influence. Opted for the Coast Guard Academy instead.
Wanted a life at sea even though hometown is as far away from either ocean as you can get (exactly 1,561 miles from San Francisco and NYC). His iron will and contrary nature, laced with a truly bizarre sense of humor, might explain why.
Found out the Joe team didn't have any Coast Guardsmen. Raised such a stink that the Coast Guard top brass had to pull every string necessary to fix it. It also gave the brass a way to get Cutter out of their hair.
Cutter is a G.I. Joe team operative in the A Real American Hero line. First released as a Hasbro carded action figure in 1984, with 3 distinct figure versions produced across the 1982 to 1994 vintage run.
Cutter appears in 1 episode synopsis across the Sunbow (1983 to 1987) and DiC (1989 to 1992) runs, first appearing in Sunbow's "The Revenge of Cobra, Part 3: The Palace of Doom" (1984). Full screencap and continuity review pending.