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Home / Cadet Life / Tenants

Tenants

Aside from academic, athletic and administrative facilities located within the gates and along the waterfront, the Academy also accommodates a variety of other establishments that support the Coast Guard mission. While the organizations may be separate, the Academy functions are a unified entity on many levels.

In addition to the Leadership Development Center, which is a free-standing Coast Guard command, the Academy is home to the Coast Guard Band, the Coast Guard Museum and the most recent addition, the USCGC Albacore, a multi-purpose operational cutter.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

Graduates of the Coast Guard Academy demonstrate extraordinary devotion to their alma mater. The bond between alumni and cadets is especially strong. Many alumni – both in and out of the service – volunteer at the Academy as coaches, tutors, mentors, advisors and more. Every area of Academy life benefits from the support of alumni.

All alumni of the Coast Guard Academy are members of an elite group: graduates of U.S. federal service academies. In addition to their highly respected academic credential, alumni gain access to an unmatched global network of contacts and opportunities. Visit the USCGA Alumni Association website to learn more.

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CGC ALBACORE

The CGC Albacore is an 87-foot multi-mission patrol boat that conducts such missions as: search and rescue, naval vessel escorts, recreational boating safety, and fisheries regulations. The Albacore is the only current operational unit attached to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

CGC BARQUE EAGLE

The 295-foot Barque EAGLE is the flagship of the U.S. Coast Guard. She serves as a training vessel for cadets at the Coast Guard Academy and candidates from the Officer Candidate School. The EAGLE is the only active-duty sailing vessel in America’s military, and one of only two commissioned sailing vessels along with the USS Constitution.

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INSTITUTE FOR LEADERSHIP

The Institute for Leadership (IFL) was founded in 2005 to expand the Academy’s 200-week experience. The mission of the IFL is to develop leaders of character through research, academic support and engagement with the Corps of Cadets. Programs include the annual Ethics Forum, Spirit of the Bear Award, Tyler Chair Trip and Seminar and the Youth Leadership Conference among other leadership-centric initiatives. Visit the IFL’s website to learn more about their leadership-centric initiatives.

 

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD BAND

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) Band was established in 1925 and made the official musical representative of the oldest seagoing service in 1965.

Based at the Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut, the USCG Band routinely travels across the country and around the world to great acclaim. In addition, the band has performed at the inaugural celebration of every president since Herbert Hoover.

Visit the USCG Band website for concert information and more.

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UNITED STATES COAST GUARD MUSEUM

The USCG Museum is located in Waesche Hall on the grounds of the Coast Guard Academy and contains an extensive collection of historical artifacts from the U.S. Coast Guard, including the original 1936 figurehead from the USCGC EAGLE, which is one of the largest figureheads displayed in an American museum.

The museum is open year round Monday through Friday: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. From June through August, the Museum is open every 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additionally, special hours may be arranged with the curator.

Please note the museum is closed on all federal holidays.
For more information about the USCG Museum, call 860.444.8511.
Visit the United States Coast Guard site for more Coast Guard history.

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Sponsor Family Application

Thank you for submitting your application to be part of the Sponsor Family Program. Your application will be processed in the upcoming week. Coast Guard Academy’s policy on background screening now requires all adults (everyone 18 and older living in the home) who volunteer to mentor, teach, coach or sponsor cadets, whether on or off Coast Guard Academy grounds, to be screened every 5 years. They are required to provide personal information (name, birth date and social security number) for the purpose of conducting a criminal background check.

The Security Officer at the Coast Guard Academy, CWO2 Gina Polkowski, is overseeing this process. Her email is: Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.

Sponsor Family designations fall into several different categories. Below are the guidelines to help you determine how best to meet the background screening requirement:

  1. If you are Coast Guard active duty you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  2. If you are a Civilian working for the Coast Guard you do not need to apply for an additional Background Check. You will be vetted through the Coast Guard system by CWO2 Polkowski.
  3. If you are non-Coast Guard Active Duty, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  4. If you are non-Coast Guard civilian who has a current security clearance or National Agency check, you are required to provide proof of your current security clearance or National Agency Check that is to be emailed by your Command Security Officer (CSO)/ Security Office to CWO2 Polkowski at  Gina.M.Polkowski@uscg.mil.
  5. All civilians in the families who are 18 years or older and do not have a security clearance or a National Agency Check are required to be vetted through Mind Your Business, the third party vendor hired by the Coast Guard Academy for the vetting process.

After you complete your application, please e-mail the Sponsor Family Program Coordinator at CadetFamilySponsorProgram@uscga.edu. In your e-mail, you must include the e-mail address and phone number of every adult living in the home. The Sponsor Family Coordinator will then initiate the background check process and you will receive an email with further instructions.

Important things to note:

There is a Sponsor Family Training that is a one-hour training which we ask sponsors to attend once every four years. This training is designed to give you an overview of the program, what is expected of you as a sponsor, and what you can expect from your cadets. This training will also help familiarize you with the cadet regulations onboard CGA. You will be notified via e-mail once the training is scheduled.

The matching process of swabs to families will occur during July and August. Please bear with us and remain flexible through this process. There will be a meet and greet scheduled on Campus, typically in late August. This will give families an opportunity to formally meet their cadet if they have not already done so. Details on this will also be via email.

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Links from these pages to non-Coast Guard sites are provided as a customer service and do not represent any implicit or explicit endorsement by the United States Coast Guard of any commercial or private issues or products presented there.
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