Honoring the City of Cape May as a United States Coast Guard Community

Floor Speech

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Mr. LoBIONDO. Mr. Speaker, I recognize the County of Cape May on its designation as a ``Coast Guard Community'' on October 1, 2014 by the United States Coast Guard and the United States Congress.

In 1924, the Coast Guard established operations to support U.S. Customs efforts in Sewell's Point. By 1948, the Training Center, which is the only recruit training facility in the country, became the entry-level training facility for all of the East Coast and eventually the entire country. Today, the base has more than 860 military and civilian personnel, and graduates an average of more than 2,300 recruits yearly.

This new designation reflects the mutually beneficial relationship between the Coast Guard and Cape May County. Over the years, the recruits and military and civilian personnel have become part of our Cape May County family. And nothing says family more than Operation Fireside. Since the program's inception in 1981, Operation Fireside places more than 500 recruits with over 180 families each year to celebrate the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

On May 8, the people of Cape May County and the United States Coast Guard will celebrate this designation at the Training Center in Cape May. My thanks to all who helped make this designation a reality.

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