(The campus of the former Birmingham-Southern College. Photo/BSC)
By Troy Turner
BIRMINGHAM — The U.S. Coast Guard will be establishing its new land-based training center on the campus of the former Birmingham-Southern College, bringing to Alabama yet another major military/homeland security presence as the state continues its rapid growth in contributing to national security.
U.S. Sen. Katie Britt led the parade of public officials in making the announcement today, joined by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Rep. Robert Aderholt, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Kevin Lunday and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Homeland Security, and not the War Department, oversees the Coast Guard, although there are many aspects the two departments share, such as protecting the American mainland and U.S. interests at sea.
Britt is chair of the Senate’s Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds DHS and the Coast Guard.
Alabama already is home to Coast Guard Sector Mobile and the Coast Guard’s Aviation Training Center, also located in Mobile.
However, the Coast Guard announced in late 2025 that it was looking nationwide for prospective sites to establish a new training center to help meet the training needs of a rapidly growing recruiting base, as it looks to add as many as 15,000 personnel.
‘A terrific outcome’
Among the specifications being sought: lodging for 1,200 recruits, a dining facility capable of seating 400 personnel, a medical facility to support 1,000 personnel (minimum 200 medical encounters and 200 dental encounters per day), 14 classrooms sized to accommodate 30-60 students, an auditorium with a capacity of 500-plus students, a pool and gym that can meet training needs, office space for 400 staff members, a land area of 150-250 acres, and proximity to a small commercial service or larger airport within 30 miles .
The Birmingham-Southern campus, which served that school until it closed in May 2024, met those needs and will join the more than half-dozen other training centers around the nation with assigned specialties for the Coast Guard’s needs.
Upon the closing of the sale, the Coast Guard will take possession of the 192-acre campus on Birmingham’s west side and will begin work to refit it as a training center for Coast Guard officers and enlisted personnel, the college stated.
The Rev. Keith D. Thompson, chair of the BSC Board of Trustees, shared support for the new deal.
“Although we will always grieve the closing of our beloved college in 2024, we believe the sale of our campus to the Coast Guard for this purpose – supporting the training, education, and ongoing development of the people who serve in our nation’s premier maritime protection force — is a terrific outcome for our city, our state, and the neighborhood we called home for more than 100 years,” Thompson said.
Alabama’s fast-growing defense role
Britt was quick to highlight Alabama’s critical role in serving the War Department and Homeland Security in providing the nation with service.
“This is a huge day for Birmingham, our great state, and the U.S. Coast Guard,” Britt said in an announcement posted on her website. “I have long been dedicated to strengthening Alabama’s military installations and the warfighters they serve. This exciting announcement further positions Alabama as a national leader in supporting our incredible U.S. Armed Forces and law enforcement personnel.”
Alabama is home to Maxwell Air Force Base, which hosts the Air War College; Fort Rucker, home of Army aviation; a robust National Guard that includes Army special forces and an Air Guard F-35 fighter wing; Anniston Army Depot and the former Fort McClellan training grounds in Anniston; the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command and several other commands on Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville; and soon the new permanent headquarters for U.S. Space Command, which also will be on Redstone.
Additionally, the state continues to grow a strong supportive defense industry base, covering a wide range of meeting military needs, including shipbuilding, space and missile technology, high-tech engineering services, uniform apparel, cybersecurity and research.
Alabama ranked ninth in the nation in the most recent government report on state-by-state defense spending, up from 14th in the previous year’s report. Details about the rankings can be found on AlaDefense.com.
More than $17 billion in defense spending was done in Alabama during Fiscal Year 2024.
(Mobile-based shipbuilder Austal USA is one of Alabama’s top defense contractors. Photo/AstualUSA)
The Department of Homeland Security, meanwhile, also has established a major FBI training center at Redstone Arsenal. It is touted as one of the most advanced law-enforcement training centers in the world.
NASA also plays a big role in Alabama, as Huntsville is home to its Marshall Space Flight Center and a vast array of rocketry test sites on Redstone.
A home in Alabama
Alabama’s congressional leaders quickly praised the selection of Birmingham for the Coast Guard’s newest training center.
“I am deeply proud to have advocated directly to Secretary Noem for a new training center in Birmingham,” Britt said. “Alabama stands as a proud leader in military excellence, and we’re honored to host this new training center that will help mold the next generation of Coast Guard members.
“As chair of the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee, I will continue fighting to give the Coast Guard the resources and tools needed to fulfill its critical mission and keep Americans safe,” she said.
Aderholt shared a personal connection to the decision.
“As a proud alumnus of Birmingham-Southern, it is important to me that this campus continues to serve those seeking to learn and improve their lives,” he said. “I’m confident the United States Coast Guard will do exactly that.”
Aderholt has served in Congress since 1997 and represents portions of north-central Alabama.
“I want to thank Senator Britt for her partnership as we worked together to encourage the Coast Guard and the White House to ensure this campus remains an important footprint in Alabama,” he said.
Local and federal leaders shown during a ceremony welcoming Space Command Headquarters to Huntsville.
Tuberville also praised the selection.
“Alabama and the Coast Guard are a natural partnership. Alabama is already home to every branch of the military and we have the infrastructure, resources, and personnel ready to make sure our United States Coast Guard continues to be elite,” he said.
Noem, in her statement, said “this next generation of heroes deserves training centers and support facilities worthy of their mission, and that is exactly what they are going to have in Alabama.”
Troy Turner is the editor and senior consultant for AlaDefense.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. His bio can be found here.
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