Training Center Petaluma is a
Coast Guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...
training facility in the northern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
counties of
Sonoma and
Marin
Marin (French) or MarÃn (Spanish "sailor") may refer to:
People
* Marin (name), including a list of persons with the given name or surname
* MaRin, in-game name of professional South Korean ''League of Legends'' player Jang Gyeong-hwan (born 19 ...
. Approximately 4,000 students train there each year.
It was formerly the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
Two Rock Ranch Station.
The training center is located in a rural area north of
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
at . It is about from the coast and west of the city of
Petaluma, California
Petaluma (Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 a ...
, west of the junction of Tomales Road and Valley Ford Road, just south of
Stemple Creek and the village of
Two Rock, California
Two Rock is an unincorporated community in Sonoma County, California, United States. It is located on Stemple Creek in a rural area west of Petaluma. A hill named Dos Piedras (Spanish for "two rocks", above sea level) overlooks the community ...
.
The facility occupies more than of land, which include 129 family housing units and 90 other buildings. It has its own clinic, chapel, fire department, and police.
Rating specific training schools
Students at the individual "A" schools receive entry level training in one of these ratings:
* Electronics Technician (ET)
* Culinary Specialist (CS)
* Health Service Technician (HS)
* Information System Technician (IT)
* Operations Specialist (OS)
* Storekeeper (SK)
* Yeoman (YN)
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.
Subject matter specialists and course writers
Each of the "A" schools at Training Center Petaluma has Subject Matter Specialists and Course Writers assigned to it for the purpose of developing up to date course materials and instructional aids relative to each rating. These specialists are usually
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxià ...
s that are very experienced in 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
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, mult ...
operates the Chief Petty Officer Academy at the Training Center Petaluma. This Academy trains
Chief Petty Officer
A chief petty officer (CPO) is a senior non-commissioned officer in many navies and coast guards.
Canada
"Chief petty officer" refers to two ranks in the Royal Canadian Navy. A chief petty officer 2nd class (CPO2) (''premier maître de deuxià ...
s for the Coast Guard and
Master Sergeants for the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
.
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
Senior Chief Petty Officer ''(SCPO)'' is an enlisted rank in the navies of some countries.
United States
U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officercollar device
U.S. Coast Guardsenior chiefpetty officerinsignia
Senior chiefpetty officer ...
; United States Air Force Master Sergeants, as well as international students representing their respective maritime services, are also eligible to attend this Academy. The basic themes of this school are:
*Professionalism
*Leadership
*Communications
*Systems thinking and lifelong learning
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
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
built a top-secret communications station on this site during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The Coast Guard took possession on July 1, 1971 and converted it into a training facility.
Up until that time, the facility was one of the major radio intercept posts in the U.S., referred to by a
Monitoring Station Designator.
Environmental hazards
As of 2007, the site carried over of
lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and were being released into the air each year. These releases have been ongoing since at least 2001.
See also
*
Training Center Cape May
*
Training Center Yorktown
The U.S. 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, locat ...
References
External links
Training Center Petalumaofficial website
{{US Coast Guard navbox
United States Coast Guard schools and training
Schools in Sonoma County, California
Education in Marin County, California
Military facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area