Coast Guard Academy wants public to join in centennial celebration

New London - The U.S. Coast Guard Academy is opening its gates to the public for several events in 2010 to celebrate 100 years in New London.

"We want to be good neighbors and good stewards of being in this area," Rear Adm. J. Scott Burhoe, academy superintendent, said in a recent interview. "I do think that we have so much to offer the community, and it's important for the community to understand the goodness that goes on here, and the benefit we provide the nation."

The centennial celebration kicks off on Jan. 30 with an evening event at which the academy will unveil the design for the banners that will hang from the academy's light posts. The top of the academy's Hamilton Hall is shown on the banner with the number 100 and then phrase "New London, 1910 - 2010."

Panels with pictures and explanations of the academy's history will also be on display.

The academy moved to its present location on the Thames River in 1932, but the school originally came to New London in 1910 after the War Department turned over historic Fort Trumbull to the Revenue Cutter Service, the predecessor to the Coast Guard.

"It's important for us to look back on what got us here," Burhoe said. "It re-energizes people about the history of the Coast Guard Academy and the commitment we have to the city of New London."

Cadets often take on community service projects throughout the area, and the academy has worked with the city school system to mentor students.

Mayor Rob Pero said the relationship between the city and the academy has been long and successful, and he thinks it will improve in 2010. He said he hopes more cadets will visit the city's shops and restaurants, and he plans to ask the Coast Guard Band to perform downtown.

"Leaders of our country have gone through the Coast Guard and can stake claim to being in our community," he said. "That's something to be proud of."

The academy has dealt with some troubles this past year, with nine cadets expelled for drug use and dozens more disciplined for alcohol offenses. The academy reported that an employee admitted to embezzling funds days before he committed suicide.

"The tough times the academy has gone through, some of that is self-inflicted by being so insular, by not interacting enough and not having more people in the community know everything about us so they can be better informed when they hear not only the good things, but also the not-so-good things that occasionally happen," Burhoe said.

Burhoe is hopeful that the centennial celebration will create a greater sense of community inside and outside the school gates.

"I'd love to see a home football game or basketball game where the stadium is filled with people from New London who want to see how the Bears are doing," he said.

Freshman softball pitcher Hayley Feindel was named the New England Division III Player of the Year in May, after she helped lead the Bears to their first NCAA tournament berth. First-class cadet Jacqueline Fitch, the first black woman named regimental commander at the academy, led the corps of cadets in a parade in September.

"The more people know about us, who we are, the quality and character of the young people who are here and the people who work here," Burhoe said, "the better off we all are going to be."

Two Coast Guard Band concerts are planned at Fort Trumbull, July 4 and Sept. 5. A collection of combat art will be displayed at the academy in early 2010 and the public will be invited to an open house to view it, at a date still to be determined.

Other centennial events are in the planning stages. Burhoe said he wants to better publicize events at the academy that are open to the public, including the cadet regimental reviews, sporting events and student productions.