I'm Captain Wes Pulver, Eagle's 27th and current Commanding Officer. Thank you for your interest in Eagle and for visiting our web site. My shipmates and I are proud of Eagle and her missions, and we enjoy sharing through this website at least a small part of what makes this Coast Guard cutter so special. Here's a little background on just who we are and what we are about.

Eagle is the largest tall ship flying the Stars and Stripes and the only square-rigger in U.S. government service. A three-masted barque, Eagle's foremast and mainmast carry square sails and her mizzenmast carries fore-and-aft sails. The ship was built in 1936 in Germany, and commissioned as Horst Wessel, one of three sail training ships operated by the pre-World War II German navy. At the close of World War II, Horst Wessel was taken as a war reparation by the United States, recommissioned as the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Eagle and sailed to New London, Connecticut, – our homeport ever since.

Eagle provides an unparalleled at-sea leadership and professional development experience for future officers of the U.S. Coast Guard, the smallest but arguably the busiest of the U.S. Armed Forces. A seasoned permanent crew of six officers and 50 enlisted personnel maintain the ship and provide a strong base of knowledge and seamanship for the training of up to 150 cadets or officer candidates at a time. Augmented by temporary crew during our training deployments, Eagle routinely sails with over 230 hands on board. Eagle offers future officers the opportunity to put into practice the navigation, engineering, and other professional theory they have previously learned in the classroom. More importantly, the challenges of living aboard and working a large square-rigger at sea build the teamwork, character, and leadership skills necessary for success in the Service.

Please explore the rest of our site and follow the links to learn more about the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

Sincerely,

R. W. Pulver, Captain, USCG
Commanding Officer, USCGC Eagle
Biography