Coast Guard Graduations Moving to Middle P.A.C. During Gym Renovation

CAPE MAY— Coast Guard Training Center Cape May will move all indoor recruit graduation ceremonies off base beginning Nov. 4 until renovations to its gymnasium are complete.
Staff members will host the graduation ceremonies at the Performing Arts Center of Middle Township. Recruit Company R-185 will be the first company to graduate at the off-base facility.
The Performing Arts Center is located at 212 Bayberry Dr. in Court House.
The graduation times have not changed; however, it’s important to note graduation is a formal military ceremony that begins promptly at 11 a.m. and lasts for about 45 minutes.
The auditorium is handicap accessible. Parents and family will be granted access no earlier than 9:50 a.m. graduation morning and are asked to take their seats by 10:05 a.m. when the parents and family presentation will begin.
The breakfast, which usually occurs the morning of graduation has been cancelled. Instead, there will be an Italian style buffet dinner at the Oceanside Club (located on Training Center Cape May) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday before graduation for a nominal fee of $12 per adult (ages 12 and up) and $8 per child.
The Coast Guard has begun a $3.7 million renovation project on its gymnasium facility aimed at improving the quality of life for those working and training here.
The renovation project includes repairing the roof on the gym, installing new air conditioning units and updating the basketball courts, which haven’t been updated since 1971.
The roofing project replaces approximately 60,000-square feet of roofing on the gym, which has begun to deteriorate and leak. The air conditioning replacement will allow climate control in the primary exercise room and the basketball courts where much of the recruit conditioning is done.
The basketball court renovation project will remove seating and fixed equipment that has been in the gym for approximately 30 years and will provide a larger seating capacity, easier set up, and a more comfortable environment for indoor graduations and on-base fitness activities.