United States Coast Guard Academy
The United States Coast Guard Academy, located in New London, Connecticut, is the U.S. service academy specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Founded in 1876, the academy provides education to future Coast Guard officers in one of nine major fields of study.
Students are officers-in-training, and are referred to as cadets. Upon graduation, cadets receive a Bachelor of Science degree and commission in the U.S. Coast Guard as an ensign. In exchange for their debt-free education valued at over $500,000, graduates incur a five-year active-duty service obligation, with additional years if the graduate attends flight school or subsequent government-funded graduate school. Out of approximately 300 cadets entering the academy each summer, around 250 graduate. Cadets choose from nine majors, with a curriculum that is graded according to their performance in a holistic program of academics, military bearing, physical fitness, character, and leadership.
Cadets are required to adhere to the academy's "Honor Concept," "Who lives here reveres honor, honors duty," which is emblazoned in the walls of the academy's entrance. The academy's motto is Scientiæ Cedit Mare, which is Latin for "the sea yields to knowledge". Its academic programs are accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education.
History
The roots of the academy lie in the "School of Instruction of the Revenue Cutter Service", the school of the Revenue Cutter Service. The School of Instruction was established near New Bedford, Massachusetts in 1876 and used USRC James C. Dobbin for its exercises. Captain John Henriques served as superintendent from founding until 1883. The one civilian instructor was Professor Edwin Emery, who taught mathematics, astronomy, English composition, French, physics, theoretical steam engineering, history, international law, and revenue law, among other subjects. The school was a two-year apprenticeship, in essence, supplemented by minimal classroom work.The student body averaged five to ten cadets per class. With changes to new training vessels, the school moved to Curtis Bay, Baltimore in 1900 and to Fort Trumbull in 1910, a Revolutionary War–era Army installation in New London, Connecticut. In 1914, the school became the Revenue Cutter Academy, and then the Coast Guard Academy in 1915 with the merger of the Revenue Cutter Service and the United States Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard.
Land was purchased in New London on 31 July 1930 for the construction of the Coast Guard Academy. The 40-acre site was made up of two parcels from the Allyn and Payne estates and was purchased for $100,000. The $100,000 was not raised through a bond issue, as originally planned, but with a bank loan based on uncollected back taxes. The contract was awarded to Murch Brothers Construction Company of St. Louis and ground was broken in January 1931 by Jean Hamlet, daughter of Rear Admiral Harry G. Hamlet, Academy Superintendent from 1928 to 1932. On 15 May 1931, Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon visited New London to lay the cornerstone of Hamilton Hall. Construction proceeded relatively on schedule and cadets moved in to the new buildings on 20 September 1932.
In 1946, the academy received the barque Horst Wessel as a war reparation from Germany, a 295-foot tall ship which was renamed. It remains the main training vessel for cadets at the academy as well as for officer candidates at the Coast Guard's Officer Candidate School, which is located on the grounds of the academy.
The academy was racially integrated in 1962 at the request of President Kennedy. The academy began admitting women in 1976 at the request of Congress.
In 2018, the academy emblem was redesigned by Nick Desjardins of the Biddeford Regional Center of Technology.
In December 2023, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability and Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs opened a probe into the USCG’s mishandling of serious misconduct, including racism, hazing, discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, and the withholding of internal investigations into these offenses from Congress and the public. The Coast Guard had conducted Operation Fouled Anchor, an investigation that ran from 2014 to 2019 that reviewed more than 100 allegations of sexual assault at the academy made from the early 1990s to 2006 and how they were handled. Coast Guard officials, however, did not fully disclose its existence to Congress or the public until last year.
Admission
Unlike the other service academies, admission to the USCGA does not require a congressional nomination. This is due to the fervent objections of Captain John A. Henriques, the first Superintendent of the Revenue Cutter School of Instruction. His objection stemmed from years of poor political appointments in the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service's bureaucracy. However, under the Compacts of Free Association between the United States and the Republics of Palau, Micronesia and the Marshall Islands, the USCGA is obliged to at all times have at least one student enrolled who is nominated by the governments of each of those states.Each year more than 2,000 students apply and appointments are offered until the number accepting appointments to the incoming class numbers reaches approximately 400; the average entering class size is 300 cadets. Those who have received appointments as cadets report to the USCGA in late June or early July for "Swab Summer", a basic military training program designed to prepare them for the rigors of their Fourth Class year. After four years of study and training, approximately 250 of those cadets will graduate. About 40 percent of cadets are women.
Academics
All graduating cadets earn commissions as ensigns in the United States Coast Guard, as well as Bachelor of Science degrees. For that reason the academy maintains a core curriculum of science and professional development courses in addition to major-specific courses. Each cadet takes two semesters of classes during the school year and then spends the majority of the summer in military training to produce officers of character with the requisite professional skills. Among these are courses in leadership, ethics, organizational behavior, and nautical science. The majority of cadets report to their first units after graduating, which are either afloat units, shore units, or basic flight training as student naval aviators, with the training conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Navy. Those that are assigned afloat serve as either deck watch officers or student engineers. Professional maritime studies courses help prepare cadets in piloting, voyage planning, deck seamanship, and all aspects of ship-handling, as well as Coast Guard leadership and administrative duties.Majors
Academics at the USCGA stress the sciences and engineering, but different courses of study are available. In addition, several of the majors offer tracks of specialization. Cadets sometimes opt to take elective courses with Connecticut College as part of an open exchange agreement.Military training
Each summer, cadets participate in training programs according to their class. The summers are organized as follows:- Swab Summer: The new class of freshmen report in to the academy, and are sworn into the military. They undergo a seven-week basic training program that culminates on a week-long voyage underway on the barque USCGC Eagle.
- Third-class Summer: Five weeks aboard the USCGC Eagle training under sail, five weeks aboard an operational Coast Guard cutter or small boat station in the role of junior enlisted.
- Second-class Summer: damage control training, weapon qualifications, navigation rules certification, aviation internship, sail training program, and three weeks as members of the cadre, who train the incoming swabs.
- First-class Summer: Ten weeks aboard an operational cutter in the role of a junior officer, or an optional internship for exceptional cadets who split their summer with five weeks at an internship and five weeks aboard a cutter.
Organization of the Corps of Cadets
The Corps is organized as one regiment divided into eight companies, each of which is composed of about 120 cadets of all classes. Although the Corps of Cadets is supervised directly by the Commandant of Cadets, the academy operates on the concept of "the Corps leading the Corps."The Corps of Cadets is largely a self-directed organization that follows a standard military chain of command:
- 1st class cadets lead the corps
- 2nd class cadets are cadre in swab summer training and are primarily responsible for leading and developing 4th class cadets. They serve as mentors
- 3rd class cadets are role models to 4th class cadets
- 4th class cadets are responsible for learning and applying Coast Guard core values such as leadership, teamwork, attention to detail, accountability, etc.
The eight companies are named for the first eight letters of the NATO phonetic alphabet. Each has a special focus in administering day-to-day affairs: Alfa Company manages health and wellness. Bravo Company runs training. Charlie Company administers the honor system, Delta Company coordinates drill and ceremonies. Echo Company manages transportation and logistics. Foxtrot Company operates the cadet conduct system, organizes the watch rotations, and updates the cadet regulations. Golf Company is in charge of supplies for cleaning and repairing damaged rooms within Chase Hall. Hotel Company is in charge of morale events.
To accomplish their missions, each company is divided, along shipboard lines, into three departments, each of which is divided into divisions with specific responsibilities. Divisions are the most basic unit at the Coast Guard Academy, and each has a very specific purpose. Each division is led by a firstie and contains several members of each other class.
This organizational structure is designed to give every cadet a position of leadership and to emulate the structure of a Coast Guard cutter, in which the division officer and department head positions are filled by junior officers. Third-class cadets directly mentor the fourth-class in their division, just as junior petty officers would be responsible for the most junior enlisted personnel. Second-class cadets act as non-commissioned officers, and ensure that the regulations and accountability are upheld. Firsties are in supervisory roles, and are responsible for carrying out the mission of their divisions and ensuring the well-being of those under their command. Exchange cadets from the other federal service academies are also a part of the corps, and take part in many activities alongside their USCGA counterparts.
Student life
Athletics
The USCGA Athletic Department offers 24 intercollegiate sports for cadets. The academy's athletics teams generally compete 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, after the USRC Bear, which made a dramatic rescue in Alaska in 1897, shortly after the opening of the academy.Music
Principal non-athletic activities are musical centered on Leamy Hall. Regimental Band, Windjammers Drum & Bugle Corps, various pep bands, and the NiteCaps Jazz Band are instrumental programs. Chapel Choirs, Glee Club, the Fairwinds all-female a cappella group, and The Idlers all-male sea shanty group are vocal programs.Model UN
The academy's Model UN team was started in 2004, and has since been successfully competing around North America, and at the World Model UN Conference.Pride
The academy has clubs and teams dedicated to increasing campus morale. These include the cheer squad, dance team and Social Committee.Notable alumni
Alumni of the Coast Guard Academy are known collectively as the "Long Blue Line".| Name | Class | Notability |
| Worth G. Ross | 1879 | Captain-Commandant; 3rd Commandant of the Coast Guard, member of the first graduating class of the School of Instruction |
| William E. Reynolds | 1880 | Rear Admiral; 5th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Ellsworth P. Bertholf | 1887 | Commodore; last Captain-Commandant of the United States Revenue Cutter Service ; 4th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; awarded Congressional Gold Medal for participation in the Overland Relief Expedition |
| Leonidas I. Robinson | 1889 | First Academy graduate to die in the line of duty |
| Frederick C. Billard | 1896 | Rear Admiral; 6th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy |
| Harry G. Hamlet | 1896 | Vice Admiral; 7th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy ; Gold Lifesaving Medal recipient; author of the "Creed of the United States Coast Guardsman" |
| Russell R. Waesche | 1906 | Admiral; 8th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; longest serving Commandant |
| Philip F. Roach | 1907 | Commodore; recipient of the Navy Cross |
| William J. Keester | 1910 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 5th Coast Guard District |
| Joseph Stika | 1911 | Vice Admiral; recipient of the Navy Cross |
| Joseph F. Farley | 1912 | Admiral; 9th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Elmer Fowler Stone | 1913 | United States Naval Aviator, piloted the NC-4 on the first naval transatlantic flight |
| Lyndon Spencer | 1918 | Vice Admiral; commanding officer of the USS Bayfield (APA-33) during World War II |
| Harold G. Bradbury | 1920 | Rear Admiral; commanding officer of the USS Leonard Wood (APA-12), USS Wakefield (AP-21) and USCGC Duane (WPG-33) during World War II; Commander of the 1st Coast Guard District |
| Merlin O'Neill | 1921 | Vice Admiral; 10th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; 4th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Alfred C. Richmond | 1924 | Admiral; 11th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Miles Imlay | 1926 | Rear Admiral; participated in the Normandy landings during World War II |
| Edward Thiele | 1927 | Rear Admiral; Engineer-in-Chief of the Coast Guard |
| Carl B. Olsen | 1928 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 8th Coast Guard District |
| Edwin J. Roland | 1929 | Admiral; 12th Commandant of the Coast Guard ; 7th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Allen Winbeck | 1929 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 13th and 12th Coast Guard Districts |
| A. J. Carpenter | 1933 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 11th and 3rd Coast Guard Districts |
| John Birdsell Oren | 1933 | Rear Admiral; Chief of Engineering |
| Willard J. Smith | 1933 | Admiral; 13th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Chester R. Bender | 1936 | Admiral; 14th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Chester I. Steele | 1937 | Rear Admiral; Commander of USCG Activities Europe and the 2nd Coast Guard District |
| Arthur B. Engel | 1938 | Rear Admiral; Superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy |
| Benjamin F. Engel | 1938 | Vice Admiral; Commander of the 14th and 3rd Coast Guard Districts |
| Thomas R. Sargent III | 1938 | Vice Admiral; 11th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Orvan R. Smeder | 1939 | Rear Admiral; Chief of Research and Development; Commander of the 7th Coast Guard District |
| Ellis L. Perry | 1941 | Vice Admiral; 12th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Owen W. Siler | 1943 | Admiral; 15th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Winford W. Barrow | 1945 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 8th Coast Guard District |
| G. William Miller | 1945 | Chairman of the Federal Reserve ; United States Secretary of the Treasury |
| John B. Hayes | 1947 | Admiral; 16th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Robert A. Duin | 1948 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 17th Coast Guard District |
| James S. Gracey | 1949 | Admiral; 17th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Sidney A. Wallace | 1949 | Rear Admiral; Chief of Public and International Affairs |
| Benedict L. Stabile | 1950 | Vice Admiral; 14th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Paul A. Yost Jr. | 1951 | Admiral; 18th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Robert S. Lucas | 1952 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 17th Coast Guard District |
| James C. Irwin | 1953 | Vice Admiral; 15th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Theodore J. Wojnar | 1953 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 13th Coast Guard District |
| William P. Kozlovsky | 1954 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 14th Coast Guard District |
| Clyde T. Lusk | 1954 | Vice Admiral; 16th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| J. William Kime | 1957 | Admiral; 19th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Robert T. Nelson | 1958 | Vice Admiral; 18th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| William J. Ecker | 1960 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 2nd and 5th Coast Guard Districts |
| Richard A. Appelbaum | 1961 | Rear Admiral; Chief of Law Enforcement and Defense Operations |
| Robert E. Kramek | 1961 | Admiral; 20th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Arthur E. Henn | 1962 | Vice Admiral; 19th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| James C. Card | 1964 | Vice Admiral; 21st Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Richard D. Herr | 1964 | Vice Admiral; 20th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| James Loy | 1964 | Admiral; 21st Commandant of the Coast Guard ; Acting Secretary United States Department of Homeland Security, United States Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security ; 2nd Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration ; |
| Gordon G. Piche | 1964 | Rear Admiral; Director of Personnel Management of the Coast Guard; Commander of Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific |
| Paul M. Blayney | 1965 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District |
| Thomas H. Collins | 1968 | Admiral; 22nd Commandant of the Coast Guard ; guided the Coast Guard after the terrorist attacks of 9/11; 22nd Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| John T. Tozzi | 1968 | Rear Admiral; Director of Information and Technology |
| Richard W. Schneider | 1968 | Rear Admiral; former senior reserve officer in the United States Coast Guard Reserve and 23rd President of Norwich University for 28 years. |
| Terry M. Cross | 1970 | Vice Admiral; 24th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Thad Allen | 1971 | Admiral; Principal Federal Official for the response to Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Rita and National Incident Commander for the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf Coast region; 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Ronald F. Silva | 1971 | Rear Admiral; Commander of the 9th Coast Guard District |
| Charles D. Wurster | 1971 | Vice Admiral; national commodore of the Sea Scouting division of the Boy Scouts of America |
| Erroll M. Brown | 1972 | Rear Admiral; First African-American Coast Guard flag officer |
| Bruce E. Melnick | 1972 | Commander; First Coast Guard astronaut |
| Timothy S. Sullivan | 1975 | Rear Admiral; Senior Military Advisor and Operational Advisor to the United States Secretary of Homeland Security; Primary Military Coordinator between the United States Department of Homeland Security and United States Department of Defense |
| Robert J. Papp Jr. | 1975 | Admiral; 24th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Paul A. Langlois | 1976 | Captain; Distinguished Flying Cross; USCGA Athletic Hall of Fame ; USCGA Hall of Heroes ; USCGA Distinguished Alumnus |
| David Pekoske | 1977 | 7th Administrator of Transportation Security Administration ; Vice Admiral; 26th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Paul F. Zukunft | 1977 | Admiral; 25th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Charles W. Ray | 1981 | Admiral; 31st Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Sandra L. Stosz | 1982 | Vice Admiral; first female Academy graduate to achieve flag rank; former Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy; first woman to command a United States military service academy. |
| Stephen E. Flynn | 1982 | PhD; author; chair at the Council on Foreign Relations |
| Karl L. Schultz | 1983 | Admiral; 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Steve Andersen | 1985 | Rear Admiral; Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard |
| Daniel C. Burbank | 1985 | Commander; Second Coast Guard astronaut |
| Charles D. Michel | 1985 | Admiral; 30th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard; first career judge advocate in any of the armed forces to achieve four-star rank. |
| Linda L. Fagan | 1985 | Admiral; 27th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard ; first female service chief in the U.S. armed services. |
| Kevin E. Lunday | 1987 | Admiral; 34th Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard |
| Douglas M. Fears | 1989 | Rear Admiral; former Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor; commander of Joint Interagency Task Force South |
| Scott E. Langum | 1993 | Captain; former helicopter pilot who rescued 168 lives during Hurricane Katrina; current commander of Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod |
| Christopher Raia | 1998 | 22nd deputy director of the FBI |
| Andre Douglas | 2008 | Commander; selected for NASA Astronaut Group 23 |
| Nikole P. Barnes | 2017 | Olympian; USCGA's first Olympic Athlete. Competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games in the Women's 470. 3x Sailing All-American; 2016 Women's National Champion. 2016 Quantum Women College Sailor of the Year. |