CAPE MAY, N.J. – The Coast Guard will host its final Sunset Parade of 2012 in honor of the City of Cape May at Coast Guard Training Center Cape May Sunday at 7:29 p.m.
“Our goal is to build and foster relationships within our community,” said Kelly. “We truly feel like we are highly valued and active members of our local community, and we strive to secure the trust and confidence of our neighbors in all we do.”
The gates of Training Center Cape May will open at 6 p.m. Visitors are encouraged to use this time for security screening, parking and seating. Guests should plan on being seated by 7:05 p.m. Sunset Parades are exciting and fun for the entire family; however, children must be accompanied by an adult throughout the ceremony.
The crew of Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., will conduct the helicopter flyover using the Coast Guard’s MH-65 Dolphin helicopter. The air station, which was founded in 1988, conducts a variety search and rescue, law enforcement, port security, and marine environmental protection.
The Coast Guard has maintained facilities at its current location at Sewell Point in Cape May since 1924. The Coast Guard’s presence was originally used to combat rum runners during the Prohibition Era. During World War II, the U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard both increased their presence on the base. Cape May is still the duty station of more than 1,000 Coast Guardsmen and 14 separate Coast Guard units including the service’s only enlisted basic training center.
The Coast Guard is the single largest employer in the Cape May County, and more than three-quarters of the Coast Guardsmen stationed here rent or own homes in the surrounding community. Meanwhile, more than 80 percent of eligible dollars from Training Center Cape May’s budget went to area small businesses in 2011, and the crew of the training center volunteered several thousand hours to local charities and community events in 2011. Boot camp graduations, recruit off-base liberty and boot camp reunions also provide a year-round source of income for the resort community.
Meanwhile, the support of the Coast Guard by community members is ever present in the City of Cape May. Each year citizens of the community open their homes to recruits during Operation Fireside, which places recruits in basic training with local families on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
In the event of inclement weather, visitors may call Training Center Cape May’s base information line at (609) 898-6700 for cancellation information.
