‘We are at capacity’: Coast Guard’s largest training center prepares to keep up with rise in recruits

YORKTOWN, Va. — After years of recruiting shortages, the Coast Guard is seeing a surge in new recruits, putting pressure on the service’s largest training center, which is already at capacity.

Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown trains more than 12,000 students each year in the specialized skills they need to serve in the fleet. As more recruits enter the service, Yorktown will need to find ways to accommodate larger classes.

“We are at a recruiting high that we haven’t seen since the early ‘90s. We are at capacity,” said Capt. Scott Rae, commanding officer of the training center.

The center provides initial and advanced technical training, also referred to as “A” and “C” schools, in a variety of rates including machinery technicians, boatswain’s mates, gunner’s mates and more. Most Coast Guardsmen come to Yorktown after completing boot camp, while others return from the fleet for job-specific training. It also hosts the Coast Guard’s largest training program for international students.

U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia provides initial and advanced technical training, also referred to as “A” and “C” schools, in a variety of rates. Most coast guardsmen come to Yorktown after completing boot camp, while others return from the fleet for job-specific training. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

In recent years, the Coast Guard has lost more enlisted members than it has recruited, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The service fell short of its recruiting targets each year from 2019 through 2023 before exceeding its goal in 2024.

“When we had that recruiting shortage, our A school pipelines were moving very quickly. In my opinion, we’re gonna start seeing some of those A school pipelines slow down until we can find ways to speed it up,” Rae said.

When Rae assumed command in June 2023, Yorktown was short on the junior enlisted personnel it typically relied on. Today, 25 additional E-2 and E-3 members are at the base, helping fill needed roles.

Coast Guardsmen clean small arms in a classroom at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. The firearms building is the newest addition to the center, and hosts the service’s second largest armory. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

A Coast Guardsman does a swimming drill at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

Coast Guardsman look at documents as they do work on an engine at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

A Coast Guardsman conducts a damage control drill at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

Small boats used for training at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown in Virginia on Friday, Aug. 28, 2026. (Kaylyn Barnhart Batista/Stars and Stripes)

“That’s more than normal,” Rae said.

The center has 1,125 berthing racks for students, and Rae said there is not much room left on the installation to expand.

The center plans to collaborate with other training centers in North Carolina and has begun conversations with facilities in the area about sharing their waterfront, berthing spaces and classrooms, according to Rae.

A new training center in Birmingham, Ala., is another part of that effort. Rae said the facility will provide a “nice pressure relief” for Yorktown and other training centers so that they can “share some of the wealth.” The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place in June.

Yorktown’s limited space has not stopped the Coast Guard from investing in its training. In May, the service awarded Ocean Construction Services Inc. a $17.8 million contract to build the next phase of an engineering and weapons training facility that will be used to prepare personnel for the next generation of cutters.

The project is scheduled to break ground in January 2027 and is expected to be completed in 2029, according to Rae.

As Rae prepares to retire next year after nearly 37 years of service, he said he has never seen the Coast Guard experience this level of growth during his career.

“I’m very excited for the future of the Coast Guard,” Rae said.