The Coast Guard is scheduled to hold a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open a new training center at the former Birmingham-Southern College the Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday. The financially struggling college closed in May 2024. (Birmingham-Southern College handout)
The Department of Homeland Security announced Wednesday that the U.S. Coast Guard will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday for the opening of Training Center Birmingham-South, which will house the Enlisted Training Center of Excellence.
The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m. on the former Birmingham-Southern College’s Bill Battle Coliseum. It will also be livestreamed.
“I can’t tell you how pleased I am that the Coast Guard has chosen to establish an enlisted leadership training center in Birmingham, Ala. I certainly look forward to being there later this week with Adm. (Kevin) Lunday and, hopefully, others,” said U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday regarding the department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2027.
Following the ceremony, there will be a tour of featured displays and units, including a helicopter and aircrew from Aviation Training Center Mobile; the Coast Guard Color Guard and Drill Team; and a quintet from the Coast Guard Band.
Homeland Security announced plans to purchase the closed-down 192-acre campus in March, after the department began soliciting potential locations for a new training center in November 2025. During the search, Homeland Security had a list of various requirements for the new facility, including accommodating 1,200 recruits and supporting personnel growth of up to 15,000.
The Coast Guard’s Force Design 2028 Execution Plan aims to improve the branch’s training systems by investing in infrastructure and maximizing capacity at existing training centers, as well as establish “a large, multipurpose training facility,” according to a commentary posted in January.
“We are able to invest in their continuing training and be able to see that they have the skills and the tools needed to deliver on the threats that face America and our waterways every single day is vitally important,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Wednesday at the hearing.
