The U.S. Coast Guard is piggybacking on the news of its highest recruiting numbers in decades by soliciting a new potential location for a training center, Military.com has learned.
The service announced Friday that its Fiscal Year 2025 accession numbers were the highest since 1991, with 5,204 active-duty enlisted service members–equivalent to hitting 121% of its target of 4,300 members for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1, 2024, and concluded Sept. 30, 2025. It exceeded USCG expectations.
USCG, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), today announced a Request for Information (RFI) and market research to identify prospective locations nationwide for the training facility aimed to be used to support projected service growth of up to 15,000 personnel.
“As the Coast Guard continues its historic growth, we’re outpacing the capacity of our existing training and workforce support facility,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in remarks as part of a USCG video. “To grow and train our force, we need more space.”
When reached for comment by Military.com, USCG referred to Lunday’s remarks in the aforementioned video.
Such expansion “will be a critical piece of the Coast Guard’s long-term force structure,” Lunday added, calling it a vital investment for national security.
“This is more than buildings,” he said. “It’s where we will forge the next generation of Coast Guard heroes.”
Stringent Requirements
USCG and DHS have identified the following minimum requirements a training center must have:
- Lodging for 1,200 recruits.
- A dining facility capable of seating 400 personnel.
- A medical facility to support 1,000 personnel (a minimum of 200 medical encounters and 200 dental encounters per day).
- 14 classrooms sized to accommodate 30-60 students.
- An auditorium with a capacity of 500-plus students.
- A pool with six lanes, 25 yards in length, and a minimum depth of 4 feet.
- A multipurpose gymnasium/athletic/sports facility suitable for sitting 1,200 personnel.
- Office space for 400 staff members.
- A land area of 150-250 acres.
- Proximity to a small commercial service or larger airport within 30 miles.
How To Apply
This news follows Noem’s announcement earlier this year of Force Design 2028, described as the Coast Guard’s “bold blueprint for change” to meet future challenges by focusing on people, organization, contracting and acquisition, and technology—all part of a cohesive plan to “shape a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force.”
USCG has released screening and evaluation criteria as part of different locations eligible and being considered for the training center, with viable communities being afforded the opportunity to submit potential candidate locations at SAM.gov.
RFI responses will be accepted until Dec. 8, 2025. Additional information regarding the RFI is available at the Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028 website.