BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON
Introducing the Coast Guard Academy — Rear Adm. Scott Burhoe speaks about the U.S. Coast Guard Academy during a recent visit to Deltona. The audience of the breakfast at the Best Western Deltona Inn included U.S. Rep. John Mica, at right, as well as a committee that advises Mica on prospective appointments to the nation's three most prominent military academies: West Point, Annapolis and the Air Force Academy. Burhoe is superintendent of the Coast Guard Academy, which he described as "one of the best-kept secrets." Members of Congress do not appoint high-school graduates to the Coast Guard Academy, but they may recommend their acceptance.
By Al Everson
posted Nov 24, 2008 - 8:38:26am
The superintendent of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy visited Deltona recently, looking for some of America's best and brightest young adults who might be interested in an all-expenses-paid higher education.
But the chief of one of the nation's military colleges finds his institution is not well-known.
"One of the best-kept secrets is the United States Coast Guard Academy," Rear Adm. Scott Burhoe told a committee that screens high-schoolers for appointments to the Army's academy at West Point, N.Y., the Navy's at Annapolis, Md., and the Air Force's, at Colorado Springs, Colo.
The committee, consisting of educators and interested citizens in Florida's 7th Congressional District, advises U.S. Rep. John Mica on prospective appointments of young people to the main military academies. Committee members heard Burhoe speak at a breakfast in November at the Best Western Deltona Inn.
Burhoe explained rising high-school seniors apply directly to the Coast Guard Academy, rather than seeking appointments by members of Congress.
"We don't make direct appointments to the Coast Guard Academy, but we recommend," Mica said.
"We get the very best young men and women for the United States Coast Guard Academy," Burhoe said.
The Coast Guard Academy is in New London, Conn. Each year, Burhoe said, about 10,000 young people consider applying, and approximately 3,000 actually do. Of those, about 290 are accepted.
Prospects must be physically fit, as well as academically prepared. The average Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score of those entering the school is 1,250. (The maximum score on the SAT is 1,600.)
"We are a normal college, but we are a military college," he said.
In one sense, however, the Coast Guard Academy is not a normal college; namely, the students — known as cadets — pay no money for their education.
The cadets receive allowances for books, uniforms, personal necessities and expenses. After they graduate, they are obligated to serve at least five years on active duty in the Coast Guard.
As well as getting new high-school graduates, the Coast Guard Academy also gets some students who transfer from other colleges or universities, but those entering the Academy begin anew as freshmen. In addition, some active-duty enlisted Coast Guard personnel are accepted for admission to the academy. Any student accepted must be no older than 22.
Burhoe said his mission is to educate, develop and train the young men and women preparing to become Coast Guard officers. That mission recently expanded. "I recently added the word 'inspire,'" he said.
"My challenge is to have them appreciate that experience while they are there, rather than after they have graduated," he said.
As well as studying diligently and taking part in extracurricular activities, such as sports, every Coast Guard Academy student is required to perform at least eight hours of community service each semester. Graduates receive a Bachelor of Science degree.
"Being an officer in the United States military is right now the most respected profession," Burhoe said.
The U.S. Coast Guard is a descendant of one of the oldest agencies of the federal government. Established in 1790, the Revenue Cutter Service was part of the Department of the Treasury, and its personnel and vessels were used to enforce customs laws and to prevent smuggling of foreign and contraband goods into the U.S. The modern Coast Guard was formally established in 1915.
In 1967, the Coast Guard was transferred to the the Department of Transportation. Following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Coast Guard was shifted to the Department of Homeland Security.
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