I delved into Wikipedia, searching for something where I had expertise and that I found interesting. It didn’t take long to find the right page: the USCG Barque EAGLE. EAGLE is the most famous Coast Guard ship still afloat; she has sailed the seven seas (in reality, she has only made it to 6 of them) since 1936. Most importantly, I spent more than two and a half years sailing on the EAGLE and know a few things about her.

The Wikipedia article is fairly comprehensive. It includes a brief overview of the training program, the ship’s history, and the design. The strongest part of the article is the description of the ship’s origins as a sail training vessel for Germany prior to and during WWII. However, there are some significant aspects of EAGLE’s story that could be greatly expanded or added. It seemed strange that the most unique and valuable aspects of EAGLE, her sailing rig and the type of training that takes place onboard, are barely mentioned. There is very little description or explanation of the complicated sailing rig. Likewise, the entire reason the ship still exists, to train cadets, is skimmed over and not explained. A stronger explanation would include a description of how the training program is carried out and what skills the cadets and officer candidates are expected to gain. Another area of omission is the lack of detail regarding significant events that EAGLE has taken part in. EAGLE has been a key player in all 6 OPSAIL events, but only the 1976 event is described. Additionally, there is no mention of when EAGLE collided with a freighter in Baltimore Harbor in 1967, causing major damage to the ship. Finally, there are numerous small inaccurate statements in the article, such as when the ‘only’ time enlisted members trained onboard is mentioned, when in reality numerous enlisted classes have served on the ship.

The sourcing of the article is inadequate. There are 7 cited sources, 1 of which is a link that doesn’t work, three are from the same set of pages at the Coast Guard Academy, and only one newspaper article is included, describing damage taken in 1972 during an allision with rigging hanging from a bridge. In reality, there have been numerous books written (and one documentary filmed in 1998) about the EAGLE that could all be plumbed for excellent material, but none are mentioned. Interestingly, the hand book for sailing the vessel, known as EAGLE Seamanship, is mentioned under further reading but is not cited in the page even though it is an excellent primary source. There are also a few notes throughout the article noting areas where citations are needed, especially when describing how the ship downed three Soviet aircraft in WWII, a story which many have suspected for years may actually be apocryphal.

The article is very neutral. EAGLE is not considered a controversial subject; perhaps the most controversial aspect of EAGLE’s history is its history as a German Navy vessel, which is fully covered in the article. Under the Talk tab, there were only a few questions regarding very minor points of nomenclature.

Likewise, the article is fairly readable, well organized, and strongly illustrated with numerous pictures of the ship over the past 78 years. The section on the ship’s history as a Coast Guard vessel does feel choppy in that it jumps between a few incidents, and leaves other significant historical occurrences out, however, this is a minor issue in the overall flow of the page. Additionally, all of the illustrations were external shots of the ship. A more comprehensive approach to the ship would include pictures of cadets receiving instruction.

After reviewing this page, I am left with the distinct taste in my mouth that even if I do not chose to focus my final project on this page, I may need to do some updating here…