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Located in New London, Connecticut, Coast Guard Academy is one of the most prestigious institutions in the United States of America. It is the one and only academy with military purposes of the US Coast Guard. When compared to the other four military branches in the country, this is the smallest one. The institution supports not less than eight different fields and trains officers in each of them. Another difference from the other academies is in the admission. If you need a nomination from a congressman to join any other academy, this one doesn’t require one. Instead, the admission depends on your merit. The aspirants are referred to as officers in training. The financial side is not important. Every aspect is fully covered by the US Coast Guard, but once they graduate, the officers must perform at least five years in the branch. The costs, as well as the obligations, might differ from one field to another. For instance, the flight school is one of the most expensive ones.
Coast Guard Academy becomes the main source of knowledge and training for around 300 cadets every year. Only about 200 of them manage to graduate. They end up with a Bachelor’s degree in one of the eight fields they gain access to. Once they are in, the officers in training must adopt the local code of honor. The mascot of the academy is a bear called Objee, while the colors are white, blue and red.
History
The history of Coast Guard Academy dates back to the 19-th century and the Revenue Cutter Service. The institution was founded in 1876, in Bedford, Massachusetts. There was one ship available for the schooling and training operations – USRC Doblin. The first commander was John Henriques. The courses lasted two years back then. They were mostly taken on the waters, but they were also mixed with a few basic classes. In 1900, the institution was relocated to Curtis Bay, Maryland. Ten years later, it was moved again close to New London, Connecticut. In 1914, it was renamed to describe its missions better, while one year later it was merged with the Life Saving Service. The new location adopted the name it still carries today.
In order to deal with the financial side and honor the officials for choosing New London for this prestigious institution, the local authorities decided to actually donate the land it is placed on. In 1932, Coast Guard Academy benefited from some advanced war reparations coming from German engineers. They also renovated USCGC Eagle. The work was so advanced that the ship is still the main training center for the cadets. In 1961, president Kennedy decided to integrate the academy racially, which means the black cadets were also allowed in and treated like everyone else.
Mission
The mission of Coast Guard Academy comes as a longer motto that must be adopted by the cadets in their first days. The academy aims to train some of the finest officers – both males and females – in the arts of obedience, loyalty and honor. They will be fully integrated, while the officials will work on their training, skills, bodies and minds.
