After fifty years at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, the US Coast Guard (USCG) Institute has been formally disestablished. Though the Institute has been in operation for 88 years (from 1929 to 2017), it has maintained a presence in Oklahoma for longer than most people can remember. The Institute’s mission: to provide the clearest path to the next higher pay grade or education level for USCG personnel. Many people have wondered why an element of the Coast Guard, generally known to patrol our nation’s shores, would have a place in land-locked Oklahoma? It was the Federal Aviation Administration’s state-of-the-art computer systems that led them here back in 1967.
Originally located in New London, CT, the USCG Institute modeled its structure after the Marine Corps’ method of conducting correspondence course education for 13 years. A reorganization precipitated the next move to Avery Point, CT, and after 25 years, the organization made its final move to Oklahoma City. The Institute hosted all functions related to advancements until 1988, including correspondence course and service wide exam writing, course material production and distribution, along with Chief Warrant Officer Selection exams. In 1988, the organization decided that subject matter experts and course writers, representing each enlisted rating were to be transferred to their respective training centers that provided formal instruction in each rating. Since then, the USCG Institute has been responsible for producing, distributing, and scoring end of course tests (EOCTs), most recently called Rating Advancement Tests (RATs), prepared by the various training centers, until the RAT was suspended indefinitely in 2015.
The USCG Institute has experienced many changes over the years, including the implementation of the tuition assistance (TA) program in 1995. Since then, the TA division has distributed $215 million dollars for over 130,000 students who completed over 381,000 courses through a myriad of schools around the world. The Institute also managed the USCG Foundation Education Grant, and Vander Putten Education Grant programs to help reimburse for education expenses not covered by TA.
As of July 14th, 2017, the USCG Institute has been officially integrated with the Training Quota Management Center (TQC). All traditional USCG Institute services will continue without interruption, but will now fall under the control of the new Education and Training Quota Management Command (ETQC) in Chesapeake, VA. The Institute’s presence will certainly be missed on the Aeronautical Center, but understandably efficiency necessitates change.
Presiding over the U.S. Coast Guard Institute’s Disestablishment Ceremony was Rear Admiral Keith M. Smith, Commander, Force Readiness Command. He presented Facility Change Orders to Lieutenant Commander (LCDR), Lisa L. Garcez, (the last Commanding Officer of the U.S. Coast Guard Institute – who took the helm in 2013) and presented her an award for her service.
Michelle Coppedge, Director of the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, also offered a special memento to LCDR Garcez, which brought a smile to her face. Months prior to the ceremony, LCDR Garcez informed the Center Management Team of how the Institute would be disestablished, and with orders to relocate, she “…sure wouldn’t miss the tiles in the Multi-Purpose Building (MPB),” which has a less-than-modern décor.
With the help of her creative team, Ms. Coppedge conceptualized the development of a special keepsake. The gift was a unique, hand-crafted block, comprised of the actual colorful tiles that adorn the MPB’s hallways, complete with an FAA Medallion and plaque. The inscription reads,
“LCDR Lisa Garcez
U.S. Coast Guard Institute
An Exemplary Tenant of the
Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center
Oklahoma City, OK
1967 – 2017
These tiles adorned the walls of the Multi-Purpose Building
(Bldg 24) where the U.S. Coast Guard Institute resided at the
Aeronautical Center. Thank you for being a valued tenant and
Partner to the Aeronautical Center for over 50 years.”
With block in hand, the Commander glanced over her shoulder at the Rear Admiral and said, “I’ll bet you don’t have one of these in DC!”
Special thanks to Chris Dumesnil, Manager, National Airspace System (NAS) Technical Services Division (AMA-900), and Randy Blue, Audiovisual Production Specialist - Team Lead, AMK-223C, for creating and assembling this one of kind award.
Following Michelle Coppedge’s remarks, representatives Mona Taylor and Brookes Wright (from U.S. Senator James Lankford’s office) presented LCDR Garcez with a special certificate of recognition as well. It was a sad, but formal ceremony, with many retirees, families and friends in attendance. The Coast Guard Institute’s own Color Guard performed their task with precision and dignity, which established and dismissed the assembly with staunch veracity. When they carried the flag out of the auditorium, Disestablishment was the new reality.
After fifty years, the Coast Guard Institute’s presence will be sorely missed on the Center, but one can be assured that the mission still remains, to provide educational opportunities for members of the U.S. Coast Guard, only now their guidance will just come from Chesapeake, Virginia. Best of luck to our Coast Guard Comrades.
