Swabs & The EAGLE: The New London-Based Tall Ship Where Cadets Train

NEW LONDON, CT — During their "swab summer," or first year boot camp, since 1946, U.S. Coast Guard Academy cadets sail and train on the 295-ft. training cutter, the Barque EAGLE.

Originally called the Horst Wessel, a ship built by Adolph Hitler to train German naval engineers, the Barque EAGLE as it was renamed, was seized as a war reparation following WWII. The cutter arrived in New London harbor in 1946.

As described recently by New London Mayor Michael Passero, the Barque EAGLE "has been an essential training asset for more than 10,000 Coast Guard Academy cadets and 2,000 officer candidates."

It's also been a training vessel for Coast Guard recruits and A-school trainees, Tall Ships America crews, New London JROTC, international maritime students, the crew of the USS Constitution, and Midshipmen from the Naval Academy in Annapolis Midshipmen, Passero said.

A cadet describes training aboard the EAGLE

“Since EAGLE is a training ship for cadets, the majority of our time underway was spent standing watches to earn qualifications that are actually applicable when we graduate," 1/c Lindsey Blake said."I spent most of my watches on the bridge since I want to be a Deck Watch Officer, and it was great to be able to do that since I was able to learn a lot about the job that I will be doing by getting valuable firsthand experience prior to even starting my 1/c year at the Academy."