CAPE MAY – The Trump administration’s controversial “one big beautiful bill” has taken hits for cuts to Medicaid and other related benefits, but it includes funding for projects that will improve the health of the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center-Cape May.
According to information provided by the office of Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-2), the bill contains $425 million for the training center, which the office said was “the single largest federal investment in the history of South Jersey.”
“The centerpiece of this effort is a state-of-the-art indoor training center that consolidates seamanship training, firefighting training, physical fitness, classrooms and graduation spaces into a single structure,” said Paxton Antonucci, Van Drew’s communications director.
The training center’s public information officer, Chief Warrant Officer Mike Lutz, said the new facility also will include a running track and a practical applications area.
Another major component will be a new small arms firing range. Lutz said the training center has had different iterations of a firing range, including live-fire ranges at which real bullets are used, and a virtual range, which would use video technology to record hits and misses.
“Both options are being looked into,” he said.
Also part of the plan is a “galley cafeteria,” a refurbishment of the current galley, at which both those permanently stationed at the base and recruits will eat their meals.
New barracks for the recruits are also in the works. Lutz said the current buildings are old and due for an upgrade. The new barracks will include classroom space.
There are roughly 1,200 recruits on the post at any time, and about 120 graduate each week. Lutz said the number fluctuates throughout the year and tends to shrink during the winter months.
There will be a rehabilitation of the pier where the cutters are docked. Lutz said the pier is not part of the training center, but is used by the Coast Guard Fifth District in Virginia. Besides the training center, the base includes a small boat station, which has three Sentinel Class fast-response cutters: the Angela McShan, Lawrence Lawson and Rollin Fritch. Of the approximately 530 people who make up the permanent personnel, about 235 are assigned to the small boat station.
The odds are that the public will not get a good view of the work that is scheduled for the training center, but might get a glimpse if they attend the Cape May County Coast Guard Community Festival, one of the graduations, or a Sunset Parade.
Van Drew’s office described the new facilities as a “historic overhaul” that will “increase recruitment, improve training quality, bring an even stronger Coast Guard presence into Cape May County and firmly establish the training center as a world-class training facility.”
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
