Coast Guard Academy hit by racial incidents

BOSTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Coast Guard Academy said on Monday it was expanding training on race relations after two hangman's nooses were found on campus, the first in the bag of a black cadet and the second in a trainer's office.

"We take these incidents very seriously," said Petty Officer Gail Dale at the New London, Connecticut, academy. The workshops on race relations have been held in September and would continue next month, she added.

One noose was found in a black cadet's bag on July 15 aboard an academy training ship. A second appeared in August in the office of a white female officer who led race relations training in response to the first incident, said Dale.

Nooses have long been symbols of racial hatred in the United States, being associated with lynching and intimidation.

The Coast Guard Academy is the smallest of five U.S. federal military academies, with enrollment of just under 1,000.