Coast Guard Training Center Cape May Marks 75 Years of Training Recruits.

The United States Coast Guard, considered a “diamond in the rough” among the country’s military branches, upholds 11 statutory missions worldwide with an active-duty workforce of just over 11% the size of the Army. Established in 1790, the Coast Guard’s beginnings can be traced back to the construction of ten vessels authorized by the first U.S. Congress and George Washington himself to enforce tariff and trade laws, later known as the Revenue Cutter Service. It proudly served as the nation’s only armed force afloat until the establishment of the Navy in 1798.

The service’s popularity grew throughout centuries of successful operation within the maritime domain and the United States consolidated more mission objectives into the Coast Guard. The 1939 merge with the Lighthouse Service and the 1946 merge with the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation brought merchant marine licensing, merchant vessel safety, and aids to navigation maintenance under its broad purview.

During World War I and II, Coast Guard members entered the service in overwhelming numbers. Prior to WWI, basic training for Coast Guard personnel was non-existent since most joining the service were experienced watermen or local mariners. Following the start of WWI, Coast Guardsmen received hands-on training at boat stations and cutters. For WWII, training centers and receiving stations were established across the nation to prepare inexperienced civilians for service in the Coast Guard, and it became clear that centralizing enlisted recruit training to one location was necessary.

U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, New Jersey, initially built as an airfield, became the Coast Guard’s only accession point for the enlisted workforce. It was originally used for reconnaissance operations during World War I and served jointly with the Navy following the start of Prohibition to deter rum runners. In 1948 it was officially opened as a recruit training center and trained up to 200 recruits monthly. Over the years, Cape May’s basic training varied in length from eight to twelve weeks, and the facilities have expanded rapidly, graduating nearly 4,000 recruits in 2023 alone.

Training Center Cape May has more than $50 million in authorized projects to expand its recruit living quarters and begin planning for the construction of a new multi-purpose, all-weather training facility. Master Chief Petty Officer Radford Hoffpauir, command master chief of Training Center Cape May, comments that building new, revolutionary facilities was necessary, including a gym and indoor track for rainy, snowy, or high-temperature days. This facility will also include a multi-purpose facility for large indoor functions such as weekly recruit graduations, official ceremonies, and all-hands meetings and inspections.

Training Center Cape May has recently tested the limits and capabilities of the current eight-week recruit training program itself by piloting a new ten-week beta program. With the extended two weeks of recruit training, they have incorporated more physical fitness sessions and stretching and recovery sessions and have introduced a new “Coast Guard Toughness” program into their new basic training beta company to develop stronger, more resilient recruits to send to the fleet.

Training Center Cape May’s mission is to transform today’s recruits into the future men and women of the Coast Guard. They take civilian volunteers and put them under eight weeks of pressure, forging them into hardworking, dedicated servicemembers that embody the Coast Guard’s core values of Honor, Respect, and Devotion to Duty. As they celebrate their 75th anniversary – their diamond anniversary, the Coast Guard recognizes their most important training asset: Their People.

“As we pay homage to all Coast Guard members and their families for the past 75 years, please know when you visit Training Center Cape May, you are always welcome home,” says Capt. Warren Judge, 33rd commanding officer of Training Center Cape May.

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