United States Coast Guard Academy

The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), located in New London, Connecticut, is a U.S. military academy that provides education to future officers of the United States Coast Guard.

Mission

While Superintendent of the Coast Guard, in 1929 Vice Admiral Harry G. Hamlet composed what would become the Academy's mission statement. Now a staple of required indoc, all entering cadets must memorize the mission during their first few days of Swab Summer, the indoctrination period for new cadets.

The mission of the United States Coast Guard Academy is to graduate young men and women with sound bodies, stout hearts and alert minds, with a liking for the sea and its lore, and with that high sense of Honor, Loyalty and Obedience which goes with trained initiative and leadership; well-grounded in seamanship, the sciences and the amenities, and strong in the resolve to be worthy of the traditions of commissioned officers in the United States Coast Guard, in service to their country and humanity.

History

The roots of the academy lie in the School of Instruction of the Revenue Marine Service which was started near New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1876, using the ship Dobbin for its exercises. With changes to new training vessels, the school moved to Maryland in 1900 and then to an army installation near New London in 1910. The modern academy dates to the 1915 merger of the Lifesaving Services with the Revenue Cutter Service. The school moved into its current location high above the west bank of the Thames River in New London in 1932. In 1947, the academy received as a war reparation the German barque Horst Wessel, renamed USCGC Eagle - a magnificent 295 foot "tall ship" which continues as the main training vessel for academy cadets and Officer Candidates.

Course of study

Each year some 400 students are selected from an applicant pool about eight times that size for appointments to the Academy. About 280 of those students accept the appointment and report in early July to the USCGA for a "swab summer" of introductory training. After four years of subsequent study and training, approximately 175 cadets will graduate with a B.S. degree and be commissioned as ensigns in the Coast Guard, to begin serving their five years of obligatory duty. The academic programs stress the sciences and engineering, but a wide variety of courses of study are available. Additional military training and leadership development are interspersed with schoolwork, with a view toward producing young officers of integrity and character with the requisite professional skills to enable them to best fulfill their future roles in the Department of Homeland Security.

Extracurricular activities

The USCGA Athletic Department offers 23 intercollegiate sports for cadets, and competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, with the exception of the Rifle and Pistol teams, which compete in Division I. Cadets devote two hours per academic day to athletic activities, either on varsity teams, club teams, or other sports pursuits. The academy nickname is the Bears, honoring the renowned Coast Guard ship of the same name. The Coast Guard Academy Men's Rugby team won the 2006 Division II National Championship in Stanford, California after an intense match against the University of Northern Colorado.

Non-athletic activities abound. Principle among them are the musical activities, centered around Leamy Hall. Regimental Band, Windjammers Drum & Bugle Corps, various pep bands, and the NiteCaps Jazz Band are some of the instrumental programs. Chapel Choirs, Glee Club, the Icebreakers all-female a cappella group, and The Idlers all-male sea shanty group are some of the vocal programs.

The Leadership Development Center was added to the campus in 1998. In addition to the Coast Guard Officer Candidate School and other training programs for the service at large, it offers special programs aimed at furthering the core mission of the academy for its cadets.

Notable Graduates

G. William Miller (1925-2006), Class of 1945, who served as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board 1978-79 and secretary of the Treasury from 1979-1981.

Bruce E. Melnick, Class of 1972, was the first Coast Guard officer selected as an astronaut.

Daniel C. Burbank, Class of 1985, became the second Coast Guard astronaut in 1996.

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