The Training Center Yorktown is located on a small peninsula near the mouth of the York River. The U. S. Coast Guard Training Center occupies 154 acres of land on a small peninsula formed by the juncture of the York River and Wormley Creek. This land is tied to one of the earliest European settlements in the New World, postdating Jamestown by 23 years.
In 1629, the Virginia Council issued an order calling for the settlement of the south bank of the Charles (now York) River. The following year, Governor Sir John Harvey was given a land patent of 752 acres at Wormley Creek establishing Yorke Village. The designation of Yorke Village as a marine port in 1633 demonstrated the importance of maritime commerce to these first settlers.
Although the exact size and population of Yorke village is not known, history clearly indicates that during a major portion of the 1600's it served as the social, municipal, and religious center for this portion of the York River area. The only remaining feature from either of the two churches from Yorke Village is the gravestone of Major William Gooch, who died in October 1655. The Gooch grave is one of the oldest legible tombstones in the New World. The decline and eventual abandonment of Yorke village coincided with the upriver development of Yorktown as a superior deepwater port in the late 1690's.
Yorktown's moment in history began September 28, 1781, when a group of Colonial and French soldiers set out from Williamsburg to lay siege to the British Army that had fortified the seaport hamlet. Twenty-one days later, Washington had defeated Cornwallis and his British regiments. The surrender was signed at the Moore House, located just outside the entrance to the Reserve Training Center.
During the Civil War, this area became the site of fortifications established by the Army of the Potomac. These fortifications served as part of the siege line established around Yorktown. Once the Union Army was in control of the Peninsula, these trenches became defensive protection in the event of a Confederate attach up the York River.
In 1917, the U. S. Navy purchased this land for use as a depot to provide fuel for the Atlantic Fleet anchored in the York River. This site was first used for training when the navy established its Mine Warfare School in 1940. The Coast Guard took possession of the site in 1959 when the Mine Warfare School was relocated. The Reserve Training Center was commissioned on July 3rd of that year.
Our mission is TRAINING, the finest the Coast Guard has to offer. Thousands of members of the Coast Guard family - regulars, reservists, and auxiliarists - come to Yorktown each year to receive quality instruction in a number of entry level or advance training programs. In addition, the Reserve Training Center hosts trainees from other armed services, a variety of State and Federal agencies, and allied foreign nations.
The number of schools located at the Training Center has grown from the original Officer Candidate and Marine Safety Schools. Today, the Training Division consist of four branches: Operations Training, Engineering and Weapons, Marine Safety, and Navigation and Waterways safety. The Operations Training Branch includes Quartermaster and Radarman Schools, as well as Maritime Law Enforcement School and Recruiter School. The Engineering and Weapons Branch is made up of the Machinery Technician, Electrician's Mate, Damage Control, Gunner's Mate, and Fire Control Technician Schools. The Marine Safety Branch includes Marine Inspection and Investigation, Port Safety and Security, Coastal Defense Planning, Marine Environmental Response, and Marine Science Technician Schools. The navigation and Waterways Safety Branch includes National Aids to Navigation and national Search and Rescue Schools, as well as the UTB Systems Center. The Reserve Training Center is also responsible for producing and maintaining correspondence courses and examinations for more than 60 nonresident courses.
The artifacts displayed on the second floor of Thayer Hall were excavated from the Yorke Village site during an archeological survey conducted in the mid 1970's.Coming from I-64 to exit 250B Fort Eustis Blvd/Yorktown to Route 17 North take a right onto Route 704, Cook Road. Turn right on Route 238.
Officer and enlisted personnel assigned to the Training Center are required to report to Persru in Steuben Hall to sign in during normal duty hours. Personnel signing in after regular duty hours will need to sign in at Layfayette Hall and report to Steuben Hall as soon as possible the next working day. During in-processing, arrangements will be made for your sponsor to assist you in settling your personal affairs and escort you through complete inprocessing.
Training Center operates on a 24 hour basis. Normal duty hours are from 0800 to 1630, Monday through Friday.
Standard Alert/Warning Signals
SIGNAL - A steady tone for 3-5 minutes duration. On-Station or local community sirens or other devices. MEANING - This signal indicates the existence of an imminent peacetime disaster. ACTION - Monitor radios, TV, PA systems or other public information systems for additional information, and then proper actions.
ATTACK WARNING SIGNAL - A wavering tone or a series of short blasts of 3-5 minutes duration. MEANING - Attack is imminent. ACTION - Proceed immediately to designated shelter or take other proper protective actions.
ALL CLEAR SIGNAL - None-information/instruction will be passed by word of mouth/radio/PA/TV. MEANING - All clear, danger of attack is over.
SURRY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT - A siren system is employed to alert the public within 10 miles of a nuclear power station. The system was designed to meet the objectives of alerting 100 percent of the population within 10 miles of the station. Several of these sirens are located around WPNSTA Yorktown. ALERT SIGNAL - The signal to alert the public consists of a 3-minute steady tone. On hearing the signal, all personnel should turn to their local Emergency Broadcast System (EBS) radio/television station for instructions and information. This warning tone lasts exactly 3 minutes and should not be confused with the standard alerting signal of 3-5 minutes of steady tone.