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

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 Eagle, a magnificent 295 foot "tall ship" which continues as the main training vessel for academy cadets.

Course of study

Each spring some 280 students are selected from an applicant pool fifteen times that size to report to the U.S.C.G.A. for a "swab summer" of introductory training. After four years of subsequent study and training, approximately 180 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 U.S.C.G.A. Athletic Department offers 23 intercollegiate sports for cadets, and competes in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. 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 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 toward its cadets.

External links

• Official Website (http://www.cga.edu/)
• Alumni Association (http://www.uscgaaa.onlinecommunity.com/)