A Texas congressman is accusing the U.S. Coast Guard of not conducting a transparent bidding process, claiming that the service’s choosing of a new site was made before formal requests were ever acquired or reviewed.
On Wednesday, the USCG announced that it newest training center is opening at Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Alabama, which the service said “best satisfied Coast Guard training mission requirements, offering turn-key ready facilities critical to supporting immediate commencement of training missions, while meeting all the service’s eligibility criteria with nominal investment compared to new construction.”
The service issued a Request for Information (RFI) on Nov. 10, 2025, seeking potential locations for the new facility to accommodate lodging for 1,200 recruits, a medical facility to support 1,000 personnel, a land area of 150-250 acres, and 14 classrooms sized to accommodate 30-60 students, among other criteria.
But in the days preceding the announcement, one lawmaker expressed concerns about the RFI process and whether it was fairly executed by the USCG…