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PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Two Coast Guard officer candidates from Virginia visited Yorktown aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Eagle.
The officer candidates and their respective Virginia hometown ties are:
- Zachary Farrell, from Springfield.
- George Sohn, from Richmond.
The Eagle departed Yorktown Sunday after a portcall Friday. It is currently en route to Baltimore to participate in the Star Spangled Spectacular festivities scheduled for Sept. 10-14.
Thirty-nine officer candidates are currently training aboard the Eagle learning navigation, engineering and other professional theory learned in the classroom. These are the very same experiences critical for officer candidates to be effective as leaders in the Coast Guard’s operational forces.
Officer Candidates undergo 17 weeks of extensive training through the Officer Candidate School in New London, Conn. In preparing to serve as officers in the Coast Guard, graduates earn their commission as ensigns and are required to serve a minimum of three years on active duty. Graduates may be assigned to a ship, flight training, or an operations ashore billet. All graduates will be available for world-wide assignment.
With more than 23,500 square feet of sail and six miles of rigging, the Eagle has served as a classroom at sea to future Coast Guard officers since 1946, offering an at-sea leadership and professional development experience. At 295 feet in length, the Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the stars and stripes and the only active square-rigger in U.S. government service.