Letter from the Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May

South Jersey Community, 
In July of 2014, Cape May County was selected and designated as a “Coast Guard Community.” That designation followed a rigorous application process, which detailed how our elected officials, and all of you, have embraced the Coast Guard and supported our members and dependents through years of sustained effort. This is an honorable and important recognition, as there are only 21 locations across the United States that bare this distinction.
The Coast Guard has been deeply woven in the fabric of this community for over 100 years. Our local Coast Guardsmen, as well as their dependents, are your neighbors and friends. Our children go to school with one another and we have vested interest in community issues. In return, Cape May County residents have acknowledged the professional work of our members assigned to the area and, more importantly, made us feel at home.
Throughout the year, new recruits arrive at the Training Center here in Cape May almost every week. If they work hard and earn the honor of graduating, I tell each of them that regardless of where they came from – whether it is from Texas, California or Guam – they are graduating as a completely changed person. When they leave here, they have been reborn a Coast Guardsman and Cape May County is their new hometown. I say this because I truly believe Cape May County is that significant to the cultural identity of our service. Eighty percent of our workforce goes through initial training here, and for that, we are tied to this community in service and in spirit.
I am proud to say that through our cooperation and the hard work of county freeholders, city mayors and the Chamber of Commerce, we will hold the 4th annual Coast Guard Community Festival May 3-6, 2018 to celebrate this relationship. The celebration will be centered around the Training Center in Cape May and our operational units, and will include events that will be open to the public. While the details of this celebration are being finalized, I wanted to make sure that all of you received this personal “Save the Date” from me, and I encourage you to lend support to celebrating your community’s achievement in support of our service. This is an opportunity to showcase to the nation both the pride we have in calling Cape May County home, and the dedication to our service that only the citizens of South Jersey can have. We are not just the Coast Guard; we are your Coast Guard.
Yours in Service,
Captain Owen Gibbons
Commanding Officer
Coast Guard Training Center Cape May