Coast Guard selects Alabama as site of second recruit training center

The Coast Guard chose the site of a former college in Birmingham, Alabama, as the location for its new recruit training center.

The campus of Birmingham-Southern College, which closed its doors in 2024 as a result of financial straits, is considered a turnkey location that could start training new Coast Guard members by the end of the year.

The location was selected because it met nearly immediate occupational requirements at less cost than new construction, federal officials said.

“The acquisition of the historic Birmingham-Southern College as our new training center is a critical step in our Force Design 2028 strategy, providing the right facilities necessary to grow our service and ensure the Coast Guard stands always ready,” Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said in a statement Wednesday.

The Coast Guard launched a modernization plan – Force Design 2028 – last year to reform its administration, add aircraft, ships and unmanned systems and grow its force by 15,000 personnel.

As part of the effort, service officials announced in November that they would open a second recruit training center to complement its 77-year-old Training Center Cape May in New Jersey. The Coast Guard issued a request for information for existing facilities that met requirements, such as being able to house 1,200 recruits and have medical, fitness, dining and classroom facilities to support them.

The location also needed to have a minimum of a six-lane, 25-meter swimming pool, have between 150 to 250 acres of land and be within 30 miles of an airport.

According to officials, the former school meets the service’s requirements.

“This next generation of heroes deserves training centers and support facilities worthy of their mission, and that is exactly what they are going to have in Alabama,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement.

Birmingham-Southern College was founded in 1918 following a merger of Southern University in Greensboro, Alabama, and Birmingham College. In 2024, following several years of financial struggles and challenges in getting financing, its board voted to close the school and put the campus up for sale.

The Coast Guard did not respond to questions about the purchase price or the cost to transform the campus into a secure military installation by publication.

In 2024, Alabama A&M University made a $52 million offer to purchase the school, but the deal fell through. On Wednesday, Keith Thompson, chairman of the Birmingham-Southern College Board of Trustees, called the sale to the Coast Guard a “terrific outcome” to a bittersweet story.

“While getting to this point has been a long, sad, and challenging journey for everyone who loves Birmingham-Southern, the Board of Trustees is confident that this is the right decision,” Thompson said in a statement. “We welcome the Coast Guard to the Hilltop knowing they will bring significant value, vibrancy, and security to our community.”

At least one U.S. congressman has questioned the Coast Guard’s decision and its process for choosing the site. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, wrote a letter to Lunday on Monday seeking information on the bidding process.

Gonzalez said he believes the Coast Guard already had the location in mind when it issued its request for information in November, and it failed to conduct a competitive bidding process, to include issuing a request for contract proposals.

“This competition must ultimately select the most deserving applicant through a full, fair, and merit-based process,” Gonzalez wrote. “The Coast Guard must follow a clear, established process to ensure fairness and accountability. If a preferred location has already been identified that determination should be communicated immediately.”

Gonzalez’s district is located just south of Corpus Christi, home to Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi and Sector Corpus Christi, Naval Air Station Corpus Christi and Corpus Christi Army Depot.

Lawmakers from Alabama, including Republican Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Katie Britt and Rep. Robert Aderholt, a graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, praised the decision in statements Wednesday.

“This is a huge day for Birmingham, our great state, and the U.S. Coast Guard. I have long been dedicated to strengthening Alabama’s military installations and the warfighters they serve,” Britt said.

The state of Alabama is familiar with disputes over the location of major military installations. The state of Colorado sued President Donald Trump’s administration over a decision in September to locate U.S. Space Command in Huntsville, Alabama.

The two states had competed for the command since the U.S. Space Force’s establishment in 2019. In the closing days of his first term, Trump chose Huntsville, home to Redstone Arsenal and Missile Defense Command.

In 2023, President Joe Biden announced the command would stay in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the site of its temporary headquarters. Trump then announced last September that it would relocate to Huntsville.