WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard celebrated its inaugural class of graduates from its newly transformed training center at the former Birmingham-Southern College campus.
Twenty-nine students in the Leadership and Management School (LAMS) graduated from the training program last Friday, about three months after the Training Center (TRACEN) Birmingham-Southern opened in June.
Earlier this year, the Coast Guard and Alabama’s federal leaders announced that the Birmingham-Southern College campus would become the new home for the training facilities, giving a boost to the sprawling 192-acre campus that had sat quiet since the school ceased operations in 2024 after facing financial hardships.
The LAMS program aims to prepare the Coast Guard’s enlisted workforce for leadership positions in the service branch.
“TRACEN Birmingham-Southern offers a larger home base for FORCECOM, and as the Enlisted Leadership Center of Excellence, offers additional capacity to develop the leaders our service members need, and the American people demand, from their Coast Guard,” Rear Adm. M. T. Brown, who arrived in Birmingham in August, said.
Birmingham will officially be home to the Coast Guard Force Readiness Command (FORCECOM), which oversees training and education for the branch, moving from Norfolk, Virginia. The Leadership Development Center is relocating from New London, Connecticut.
So far, 44 FORCECOM staff are working from Alabama as they continue to prepare the campus to serve as the new training hub.
Adm. Thomas Allan, vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, who represents the campus, and Mayor Randall Woodfin attended the graduation ceremony.
“Congratulations to these future leaders and to everyone who helped bring this historic training center to Birmingham!” Sewell said on social media.
I was proud to join the inaugural graduating class of Training Center Birmingham-Southern as they begin a new chapter of service with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Congratulations to these future leaders and to everyone who helped bring this historic training center to Birmingham! 🎉 pic.twitter.com/UguiT29CW1
— Rep. Terri A. Sewell (@RepTerriSewell) September 4, 2026
The Coast Guard plans to fully equip Birmingham-Southern with modern training spaces and numerous indoor and outdoor physical fitness facilities, including the campus’ quad for trainees. On-campus housing is still being adapted for the Coast Guard’s needs, so the first classes of graduates will stay off campus in the meantime.
“Having LAMS at TCB-S was a great experience, one which showcases the benefits of this new location for students and the Service. There’s so much potential for a variety of classes to be held here,” student John Larkin III said in a news release.
To honor Birmingham-Southern College’s history, the Coast Guard graduates also rang the ceremonial bell on campus just as the college graduates used to do every year.
In June, lawmakers and Coast Guard officials held a ribbon-cutting in Birmingham to mark the start of the transition of the college into a military training facility.
“In leadership training we often talk about ‘walking the walk’ and leading by example,” Master Chief Petty Officer Richard Forte, LAMS master instructor, said. “With this investment, the Coast Guard is ensuring that our training matches the needs of our enlisted service members so we can build the best leaders and continue to provide world-class training throughout their careers so they can in turn build the best Coast Guard.”