A four-year military college that trains officers for the Coast Guard, the academy began in 1876 when the schooner Dobbin was chosen to serve as a floating training school to prepare cadets for the Revenue Marine (which later evolved into the Coast Guard). The Dobbin was succeeded by several other ships until the early 20C, when the academy was established at Fort Trumbull. In 1932 the academy moved to its present site beside the Thames.