The Coast Guard Academy predates the service itself. The academy first formed as the U.S. Revenue Cutter School of Instruction-Underway, setting sail from Baltimore in 1876 on a two-year training voyage aboard the topsail schooner James C. Dobbin.

Recent complaint filings from 13 former cadets accuse the Coast Guard of negligence in handling sexual assault cases.

Administrative complaints filed Thursday seek $10 million each for 13 former cadets who say they were sexually assaulted from the 1980s to recent years.

Thirteen former cadets at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy are accusing overseers of the Connecticut school of failing to prevent sexual violence on campus and covering it up

It is customary at Coast Guard Academy for fourth class (freshmen) cadets to address upperclassmen and women as “sir” or “ma’am” at all academy outposts, except during sports practices and games.

I know that there are many, many more survivors out there who experienced sexual assault at the Coast Guard Academy and my hope is that with the publicity ... other survivors will feel empowered to come forward and reach out to us,

Thirteen former cadets from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London are taking legal action against the federal government. The cadets say they are victims of sexual violence and their pleas for help went unanswered by Coast Guard officials.

Under federal tort law, the Coast Guard has six months to make a decision on the claims. If denied, claimants can file a lawsuit.

More than a dozen former U.S. Coast Guard Academy students who say they were victims of sexual assault filed complaints on Thursday seeking $130 million in damages, accusing the school of allowing sexual violence to go unchecked.