Training Center Petaluma

Last updated
Entrance sign in 2008 TrainingCenterPetaluma3171.jpg
Entrance sign in 2008

Training Center Petaluma is a Coast Guard training facility in the northern California counties of Sonoma and Marin. Formerly the installation was the United States Army "Two Rock Station" . [1] Approximately 4,000 military students train there each year. [1] It is the only Coast Guard training center or large installation without a major operational component (air station, motor life boat station, etc) or waterfront.

Contents

The training center is located in a rural area north of San Francisco at 38°15′N122°47′W / 38.25°N 122.79°W / 38.25; -122.79 . It is about 9 mi (14 km) from the coast and 9 mi (14 km) west of the city of Petaluma, California, west of the junction of Tomales Road and Valley Ford Road, just south of Stemple Creek and the village of Two Rock, California.

The facility occupies more than 800 acres (320 ha) of land, which include 129 family housing units and 90 other buildings. A small town, the training center also has a movie theater, RV and camping spots, over 10 miles of hiking and walking trails, barbershop and hair salon, tailor, chapel with regular services, bowling alley, and other amenities. Public safety is provided by a Coast Guard Fire Department and a mix of Coast Guard Military Police and contracted private security, though emergency medical services including advanced life support and ambulance transport is provided by local civilian agencies. An on-installation medical clinic provides non-emergency general outpatient healthcare for active duty and reserve service members, while dependents and retirees are seen on the local civilian network.

Rating specific training schools

Students at the individual "A" schools receive entry-level training in one of these ratings:

Graduates of these "A" schools can be advanced to petty officer third class and are then assigned to a new duty station.

"C" school training is also offered for advanced training in each of these ratings, including a National Registry Emergency Medical Technician course and others.

Subject Matter Specialists and Course Writers

Each of the "A" schools at Training Center Petaluma has subject matter specialists and course writers assigned for the purpose of developing up to date course materials and instructional aids relative to each rating. These specialists are usually chief petty officers with substantial experience within their rating. Courses developed are used in the field to help enlisted persons learn new skills in their rating. Advancement is dependent in successful completion of these courses and passing grades on service-wide examinations in each rating.

Chief Petty Officer Academy

The United States Coast Guard operates the Chief Petty Officer Academy at the Training Center Petaluma. This academy trains chief petty officers for the Coast Guard and master sergeants for the U.S. Air Force.

Enlisted Coast Guardsmen who have advanced to chief petty officer, must attend the Chief Petty Officer Academy, or an equivalent Department of Defense school, to be advanced senior chief petty officer; United States Air Force Master sergeants, as well as international students representing their respective maritime services, are also eligible to attend the academy. The basic themes of this school are:

Other Advanced Training

Other schools offered include advanced leadership training in course design, instructor development, professional development as well as instructional systems training.

History

The U.S. Army built a top-secret communications station on this site during World War II. The facility was one of the major radio intercept posts in the United States, referred to by a Monitoring Station Designator. [2] To deter Japanese attention and to fool aerial reconnaissance, the station was camouflaged to look like a local dairy farm, named "Two Rock Ranch" with most operations occurring underground in concrete tunnels and bunkers. Above ground buildings, including command buildings, were built to look like farmhouses, barns and other outbuildings common to the area. The Coast Guard beat out several other interested parties including the California Highway Patrol for the surplus property after modern technologies and changing threats made the station obsolete, and took possession during a change-of-command ceremony on July 1, 1971. [1] "Training Center Petaluma" was chosen as a name over several others because Petaluma would be more easy to find on a map to traveling personnel than Two Rock.

In the mid 1990s, the base twice faced closure under the Base Realignment and Closure Act, but was saved thanks in part to significant local community support, the closure of the Coast Guard Training Center at Governors Island, New York and a surge in recruits following the September 11th, 2001 attacks.

Community Involvement

Training Center Petaluma plays a large role in the local community. A significant population of the employees both civilian, military and others live throughout Sonoma and Marin counties. The Coast Guard Fire Department is tied into local emergency dispatch and frequently provides mutual aid to the local community.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Coast Guard</span> Maritime law enforcement and rescue service branch of the U.S. military

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world, rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petaluma, California</span> City in Northern California, United States

Petaluma is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-commissioned officer</span> Type of military officer

A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is a military officer who does not hold a commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority by promotion through the enlisted ranks. In contrast, commissioned officers usually enter directly from a military academy, officer training corps (OTC) or reserve officer training corps (ROTC), or officer candidate school (OCS) or officer training school (OTS), after receiving a post-secondary degree.

Petty officer first class (PO1) is a rank found in some navies and maritime organizations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hospital corpsman</span> U.S. Navy enlisted medical specialist

A hospital corpsman (HM) or corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank A. Welch</span> 9th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Franklin A. Welch was the ninth Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Coast Guard. Welch entered the Coast Guard in 1980 after graduating from Shades Valley High School Class of 1978, in Birmingham, Alabama. A former Master Chief Quartermaster, he served in office from October 10, 2002, to June 14, 2006, and served in the Coast Guard for over 26 years.

A parachute rigger is a person who is trained or licensed to pack, maintain or repair parachutes. A rigger is required to understand fabrics, hardware, webbing, regulations, sewing, packing, and other aspects related to the building, packing, repair, and maintenance of parachutes.

Specialist is a military rank in some countries' armed forces. Two branches of the United States Armed Forces use the rank. It is one of the four junior enlisted ranks in the United States Army, above private (PVT), private (PV2), and private first class and is equivalent in pay grade to corporal; in the United States Space Force, four grades of specialist comprise the four junior enlisted ranks below the rank of sergeant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rescue swimmer</span> Military occupation

Rescue swimmer is a qualification given to rescue specialists, most commonly in the service of the military. Rescue swimmers usually are charged with the rescue, assessment, and rendering of medical aid to persons in distress in the sea, on the land, or in the air. This highly specialized position is extremely challenging.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Warrant officer (United States)</span> Ranks in the U.S. Armed Forces

In the United States Armed Forces, the ranks of warrant officer are rated as officers above all non-commissioned officers, candidates, cadets, and midshipmen, but subordinate to the lowest officer grade of O‑1. This application differs from the Commonwealth of Nations and other militaries, where warrant officers are the most senior of the other ranks, equivalent to the U.S. Armed Forces grades of E‑8 and E‑9.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aviation Survival Technician</span> United States Coast Guard rescue swimmer

Aviation Survival Technician (AST) is a rating or job specialty in the United States Coast Guard. Rescue swimmer is the collateral duty or aircrew position of the AST. They are trained at the U.S. Coast Guard's enlisted Aviation Survival Technician/Rescue Swimmer school at Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center, Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operations specialist (United States Navy)</span> Occupational rating

Operations Specialist is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating. It is a sea duty-intensive rating in the Navy while most of Coast Guard OS's are at ashore Command Centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Religious program specialist</span> United States Navy rating

Religious Program Specialist (RP) is a designated rating within the United States Navy. As an essential member of Professional Naval Chaplaincy, RPs fulfill a crucial function in administering religious ministry within the Department of the Navy (DON). Together with chaplains, they form the Religious Ministry Team (RMT). In this capacity, RPs actively support the provision and facilitation of Religious Ministry, offering assistance and care to Navy and Marine Corps personnel, as well as their families, irrespective of their backgrounds and faith affiliations. Despite working in a religiously diverse environment, RPs are not mandated to hold religious beliefs nor perform pastoral counseling for the service members under their care. Due to the mobile nature of the units they may be assigned to, RPs can be stationed on Navy ships, at various Navy and Marine Corps commands, navy construction battalions, and other unique combatant units-rendering them globally deployable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric A. Trent</span> 7th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Master Chief Aviation Electronics Technician Eric Anthony "Rick" Trent served as the seventh Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from July 1, 1994, to May 31, 1998.

The United States Coast Guard Training Center (TRACEN) in Yorktown, Virginia, is one of eight major Coast Guard training facilities in the United States. The others are Training Center Petaluma, Training Center Cape May, Aviation Training Center, located in Mobile, Alabama, Leadership Development Center, located in New London, Connecticut, Maritime Law Enforcement Academy, located in Charleston, South Carolina, Special Missions Training Center, Camp LeJeune, North Carolina, and the Aviation Technical Training Center, located in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. TRACEN Cape May is the only U.S. Coast Guard Base used for Basic Military Training or "boot camp". TRACEN Yorktown, TRACEN Petaluma, Maritime Law Enforcement Academy, and the Aviation Technical Training Center are locations for Coast Guard's apprentice level "A" and advanced level "C" Schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Coast Guard Police</span> Law enforcement unit within the United States Coast Guard


The United States Coast Guard Police (CGPD) are law enforcement units stationed at certain shore facilities of the United States Coast Guard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Master-at-arms (United States Navy)</span> Military unit

The Master-at-Arms (MA) rating is responsible for law enforcement and force protection in the United States Navy—equivalent to the United States Army Military Police, the United States Marine Corps Military Police, the United States Air Force Security Forces, and the United States Coast Guard's Maritime Law Enforcement Specialist. It is one of the oldest ratings in the United States Navy, having been recognized since the inception of the U.S. Navy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason M. Vanderhaden</span> 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

Jason M. Vanderhaden is a retired Master Chief Petty Officer of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 13th Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from May 17, 2018 to May 19, 2022. As MCPOCG, Vanderhaden served as the principal advisor to the Commandant of the Coast Guard on all enlisted personnel matters. As a matter of protocol, this gave him precedence equal to that of a three-star officer.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "History of Training Center Petaluma". United States Coast Guard . United States Department of Homeland Security . Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  2. ↑ Budiansky, Stephen (2016). Code Warriors. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. p. 301. ISBN   9780385352666.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.