Coast Guard Fun Facts

• TRACEN is the boot camp of the U.S. Coast Guard.
• 42 out of 52 Tuesdays of the year, TRACEN gets a new shipment of recruits.
• This shipment usually consists of 75-100 recruits.
• The recruits go through an 8-week cycle at TRACEN.
• This year, TRACEN will train 4,250 recruits.
• 42 out of 52 Fridays of the year, TRACEN holds a graduation ceremony.
• Each graduation ceremony brings 400-1,000 visitors on base.
• In 2015, TRACEN hosted 40,000+ visitors (combined) for Sunset Parades, graduations and the Coast Guard Community Festival.
• TRACEN’s economic impact is $173 million to the County, third behind fishing and tourism.
• TRACEN has approximately 1,000 employees.
• More than 80% of the Coast Guard’s workforce begin their career in Cape May County.
• The only Coast Guard Uniform Distribution Center is located in Woodbine and ships uniforms, metals, ribbons and accessories to Coast Guard men and women all over the world.
• Cape May County was proud to be the second region ever to receive the designation of “Coast Guard Community.” There are currently three Coast Guard Communities and 17 Coast Guard Cities.
• During World War II, the Coast Guard Mounted Beach Patrol rode the beaches of all of Cape May County’s barrier islands on horseback, as well as walking the sandy stretches with German Shepherds, to watch for German U-boats.
• Federally-funded life-saving stations graced Cape May County’s shores as early as 1849. Some of these, including Ocean City’s 1885 Life Saving Station 30, are still standing and operate as museums or civic buildings.
• In the 1920s, 18 Coast Guard patrol boats, operating out of Sewell’s Point, sought to foil rumrunners off the Jersey Coast during Prohibition.
• Sewell’s Point, the large expanse of oceanfront land where TRACEN is now located, was home to a facility shared by the Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy from 1924-1946.
• TRACEN now hosts two Fast Response Cutters (FRCs), a new class of patrol boat for the Coast Guard. These 154’ ships are designed to pursue various missions including coastal security, defense operations, maritime law enforcement, search and rescue, marine safety, and environmental protection.