WASHINGTON – Coast Guard Recruiting Office Kansas City will send its first recruit to basic training at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, New Jersey, Tuesday.
Melanie Yates, a 21-year-old female, is the first to “ship”’ from Topeka, Kansas.
“When I first thought about the military, I reviewed all of the other services. There weren’t any recruiting offices nearby,” said Yates. “As soon as I saw that the Kansas City office opened up, I signed right up.”
Coast Guard Recruiting Office Kansas City held a grand-opening ceremony on June 29, 2016, and is the Coast Guard’s newest recruiting office. Training Center Cape May is the sole accession point for the Coast Guard's enlisted workforce. More than 4,000 recruits will train there in 2017, before being assigned to units in the U.S. and around the world. Graduates of the basic training program will become part of an organization that in an average year:
- Protects and defends more than 100,000 miles of coast and inland waterways;
- Responds to approximately 25,000 search and rescue cases;
- Saves approximately 5,000 lives;
- Responds to 3,000 pollution incidents;
- Services 42,000 aids-to-navigation;
- Patrols more than six million square-miles of ocean.
Those interested in joining the U.S. Coast Guard are encouraged to visit GoCoastGuard.com to get more information, find a recruiter, or chat with one of the recruiters online. Media interested in contacting the recruiting office should contact Chief Petty Officer Robert Scott at (816) 527-0441 or via email at Robert.C.Scott3@uscg.mil.