A commonly asked question when people first begin to research getting into the Coast Guard, is where does the Coast Guard do their basic training?

The most direct answer to that question is stated in the headline of this paragraph, which is Cape May, New Jersey. More specifically, it is referred to as TRACEN Cape May, or Training Center Cape May. The official tagline is "The Birthplace of the U.S. Coast Guard Enlisted Corps". This is where all Coast Guard recruits who plan to join the enlisted ranks attend basic training. This is regardless of whether it's the standard 8 week course or the shortened 3 week DEPOT course, or if the recruit plans on being active duty or being in the reserves. It all happens at TRACEN Cape May.

The exception is those who are looking to become officers. Those recruits attend Officer Candidate School or "OCS", which is located in New London, Connecticut at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. It's been there since August of 1998. Before that, it was located at the Coast Guard Reserve Training Center (RESTRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia.