U.S. Coast Guard Year in Review

The past year has been a tale of two cities for the U.S. Coast Guard. On one hand, the service was nationally lauded for its response to the Key Bridge allision and for working across agencies to recover and maintain the Maritime Transportation System. On the other, the service continued to grapple with cultural issues tying back to Operation Fouled Anchor, attempting to ensure its new course will help prevent recurrence and provide an environment in which all members can excel. Between these two extremes, the Coast Guard faced staffing and asset challenges as it worked to seize illegal drugs, conduct search and rescue, respond to major hurricanes, and provide increased presence around the globe.

Key Bridge

At 0129 on 26 March 2024, the 984-foot containership M/V Dali lost power and allided with the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, leading to the bridge’s collapse, obstructing the federal navigation channel and sending hazardous materials into the Patapsco River. Two members of a road maintenance crew were rescued from the water, but six others perished. 

A six-agency unified command swiftly mobilized, integrating federal, state, and local resources to recover victims, protect the Patapsco River and Chesapeake Bay, and clear the wreckage to reopen the vital Port of Baltimore. Ultimately drawing in more than 515 Coast Guard members and 555 partners, the effort resulted in the partial reopening of the port within just 7 days and full restoration by day 56.

This extraordinary response underscores the critical role of collaboration among agencies. In total, 55 agencies contributed to the response effort, including the Coast Guard, Maryland Department of the Environment, Army Corps of Engineers, Maryland Transportation Authority, and the Maryland State Police. Established relationships facilitated rapid information-sharing and decision-making. Daily briefings and joint operational meetings enabled synchronized resource allocation. Local agencies contributed significant manpower, deploying more than 100 people to assist with on-ground rescue efforts and site management. In addition, the Maryland Transportation Authority coordinated traffic diversions, minimizing congestion and allowing emergency responders to operate effectively.

The incident response was bolstered by the contributions of approximately 118 Coast Guard Reserve and Auxiliary members, representing about 25 percent of the Coast Guard’s support. In fact, the final two months of the response relied primarily on reservists and auxiliarists, who were essential for operational resiliency and mission continuity. Reservists served in nearly every element of the incident command post. Auxiliarists undertook diverse roles, notably in the joint information center to facilitate timely and transparent communication with the media and public and as liaisons to enhance collaboration among federal, state, and municipal agencies. Each fostered public trust and reinforced interagency unity crucial to managing the complex response. 

People

Also in 2024, the Coast Guard Reserve took a huge step toward seamless integration with the active-duty force. In October, the service commissioned its first two cyber-focused Reserve commands to enhance security for the service’s networks and the Marine Transportation System. Coast Guard Reserve Unit USCyber’s 15 billets and 1941 Cyber Protection Team’s 39 billets augment three active-duty teams. These new reserve units offer another opportunity for those leaving active duty or wanting to join the Reserve directly. The year also saw the Coast Guard’s cyber community expand its participation in cybersecurity exercises with the Area Maritime Security Counsel in the U.S. Virgin Islands and training and simulation with federally funded research and development centers.

The Coast Guard’s emerging approach to talent management also included launch of the Lateral Entry Program. Spearheaded by the Coast Guard Recruiting Incident Management Team, the program was created to build recruitment numbers by bringing in qualified personnel with key skills at midgrade ranks. One approach used a formal letter of intent with institutions of higher learning, providing a path for graduates to join the Coast Guard as petty officers third or second class. According to published reports, the service:

has established agreements with 20 schools, such as the University of Rhode Island, Chapman University, SOWELA Technical Community College, Orange Coast College, Indian River State College, and Great Lakes Culinary Institute, among others. These schools offer specialized programs that are preapproved by the Coast Guard, ensuring students meet comprehensive standards of readiness and are prepared for a fulfilling career dedicated to service.¹ 

There was good news on the recruiting front. Even as the military as a whole continues to struggle, the Coast Guard met its recruitment goals for active duty, reservists, and officers for the first time since 2007—though it remains about 10 percent down in total force numbers. 

In addition, Coast Guard culture topped other branches in the first aggregated Defense Organizational Climate Survey. Views vary, however, on how successful the Coast Guard has been at addressing harmful behaviors such as racism and sexual harassment, suggesting more work remains to be done. The surveys were conducted between August 2023 and January 2024, with a Coast Guard response rate of 52 percent for active-duty members and 46 percent for reservists, the highest among the military branches.

The service also faced some significant personnel challenges. In June 2023, a CNN story highlighted a previously undisclosed Coast Guard Investigative Service report titled “Fouled Anchor” on the mishandling of sexual assault and harassment cases at the Coast Guard Academy between 1988 and 2006. A year later, Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan testified before a congressional panel on the matter. Senators on both sides of the political spectrum were direct and often critical. Fagan was equally direct in her responses. Sexual assault “is unacceptable. Not in my Coast Guard,” she said. “It is not who we are.”² 

As the Coast Guard recharts its path, the Strengthening Service Culture (SSC) initiative will ensure all members have the positive workplace experience they expect and deserve. The effort is designed to invigorate and sustain the Coast Guard’s culture to more effectively align behaviors with service values. Launched in July 2024, SSC has three overarching themes: (1) ensuring a safe and supportive workplace; (2) reinforcing core values; and (3) fostering engaged leadership. SSC encompasses a number of related initiatives, including Safe to Report, which aims to eliminate a barrier to reporting sexual assault by removing the perpetrator’s ability to threaten to report minor collateral violations if victims or witnesses come forward. The policy is intended to protect bystanders who intervene to prevent or disrupt a sexual assault. 

Mission Excellence

The service remains steadfast in excellence across its 11 missions, including: 

Search and Rescue. Always a top priority, search-and-rescue (SAR) operations in 2024 saved more than 5,800 lives and $132 million in property across 14,000 cases. In a single weekend in the Bay Area in November, the service rescued 16 individuals in five separate incidents. 

The SAR and humanitarian responses to Hurricanes Milton and Helene underscored the service’s response capabilities. For Hurricane Milton, the service positioned 27 aircraft—17 on immediate standby and 10 Coast Guard Auxiliary aircraft—as well as 30 cutters for response. One rescue during these hurricanes captured international attention: Responding to a report of a missing ship’s captain off Longboat Key, the Coast Guard deployed multiple aircraft. The rescue unfolded in two parts. Initially, the fishing vessel was reported disabled with two persons on board. A Coast Guard Station Sand Key rescue boat crew and an Air Station Clearwater rescue helicopter crew arrived on scene, and the two people were returned to shore in good condition. The vessel was left adrift. 

The next day, the ship’s captain returned to the vessel to begin repairs, but by 0300 the following morning, he still had not checked in with family. Watchstanders determined the rudder had become disabled while the captain was bringing the vessel back to port. As Helene intensified and prepared to make landfall, the second SAR effort was launched, and the responding Air Station Miami MH-65E Dolphin helicopter found the captain clinging to a cooler. The crew was able to bring the captain safely to Tampa General Hospital. 

Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg’s command center chief, noted: “This man survived a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner. He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler.”

Expanding its SAR footprint, on 14 November the Coast Guard commissioned Air Station Ventura, California, the first new air station in 25 years. Its first rescue occurred on 14 October (while the station was still in precommission status), when an MH-60T Jayhawk crew medevaced a 63-year-old man from the cruise ship Grand Princess.

Marine Safety. The Coast Guard operates the Vessel Traffic Services program around the country. The service’s 2024 Operational Posture Statement notes its importance: 

The Coast Guard is reinforcing actions to be “brilliant at the basics” that strengthen marine inspection, investigation, Vessel Traffic Services, waterways management, and aids to navigation. Efforts continue to implement the Prevention Readiness Initiative’s Action Plan, our comprehensive marine safety strategy to progressively expand capacity, modernize training, leverage cutting-edge technologies, and implement mitigation strategies to reduce enterprise risk.

The posture statement further notes the service is anticipating and responding to developments within the Maritime Transportation System, including “autonomous vessels, offshore renewable energy installations, and alternative vessel fuels.” In some cases, it also is implementing “agreements to ensure the safety and security of autonomous vessels and operations in the space launch and recovery industry. The same applies for new vessels powered by alternate fuels.”

Law Enforcement, Drug Interdiction, and Fisheries. In addition to its safety and stewardship missions, the Coast Guard remains vigilant on the front lines fighting illegal activity in the maritime environment. Highlighting international and interagency cooperation, a group including the USCGC Joseph Napier (WPC-1115), HMS Trent, Coast Guard Tactical Law Enforcement Team Pacific, U.S. Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations, and Joint Interagency Task Force–South interdicted more than 4,000 pounds of cocaine with an estimated street value of $54 million. The seizures were made in three separate interdictions, including of a narco semisubmersible, and saw the apprehension of 11 suspected smugglers. According to a service press release, the interdiction was “part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multiagency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multiagency approach.”³ 

The service also continued its migrant interdiction operations, with many cases highlighting the desperate, unsafe conditions facing those attempting to reach the United States by sea. In June, the Coast Guard returned a combined 305 migrants to the Bahamas and Haiti. In October, separate crews interdicted three grossly overloaded makeshift vessels near Puerto Rico. 

One aspect of the service’s interdiction efforts is supporting children caught in human trafficking. In fiscal year 2023 alone, the service screened 257 unaccompanied children for human trafficking after encountering them during migrant interdictions at sea. These children subsequently were referred to interagency partners as part of the Coast Guard’s collaborative efforts within the Department of Homeland Security to address human trafficking.

In January 2024, the medium-endurance cutter Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) relocated to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (IndoPaCom) and took part in Operation Blue Pacific. The operation involved a journey of more than 8,600 nautical miles, with stopovers in American Samoa, Samoa, Fiji, Vanuatu, and Australia. During this mission, the cutter operated alongside partner nations in Oceania and exercised multiple bilateral maritime law enforcement agreements to carry out 33 boardings in collaboration with Pacific Island partners within their respective exclusive economic zones. 

International Engagement

The Coast Guard’s role in the Indo-Pacific continues to expand. Three additional cutters were moved to Guam, bringing the fleet there to six fast response cutters. The service also has increased its engagement with Japan. Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Andrew Tiongson told The Japan Times that this and other regional initiatives are the result of “near-continuous staff talks between the services” of the two nations.⁴ 

In the same article, Admiral Tiongson noted, “The U.S. and Japan continue to seek opportunities to deepen our services’ relationship through collaboration on combined operations and exercises, professional and academic exchanges, training, and capacity building.” He said the Coast Guard footprint in IndoPaCom is increasing, including “an additional Indo-Pacific support cutter that will help assist partner nations with capacity building and combating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the region.” IndoPaCom cooperation is a growing focus as concerns over the Pacific “gray zone” continue to garner international attention. 

The gray zone appears to be extending northward into the Arctic, with rising concerns over the joint efforts of Russia and China in the Bering Sea. During a patrol of the maritime boundary between the United States and Russia, a Coast Guard HC-130J aircraft from Air Station Kodiak observed two Russian Border Guard ships and two China Coast Guard vessels approximately 440 miles southwest of St. Lawrence Island. The four vessels were sailing in formation and headed northeast, remaining roughly five miles inside the Russian exclusive economic zone. Rear Admiral Megan Dean, 17th Coast Guard District commander, commented, “This recent activity highlights the increased interest in the Arctic by our strategic competitors.”⁵ This was the northernmost detection of China Coast Guard vessels to date and drew significant attention from U.S. lawmakers. 

The Atlantic side of the Arctic saw U.S. and partner cooperation on display during Operation Nanook 2024, in which the USCGC Northland (WMEC-904) joined vessels of the U.S. Second Fleet, Royal Canadian Navy, and Royal Danish Navy. “Operation Nanook is a vital opportunity for the U.S. Coast Guard and our international partners to strengthen the collaboration, interoperability, and effective partnerships that are essential to addressing the unique challenges of the Arctic,” explained Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander Vice Admiral Nate Moore. “As the region transitions into a more competitive domain, our presence is critical to protecting U.S. national security interests and ensuring a rules-based order.”⁶

The Coast Guard’s primary high Arctic presence, the heavy icebreaker USCGC Healy (WAGB-20), was at sea conducting scientific and international training missions in late 2024 when she suffered a significant electrical fire. After returning to homeport in Seattle for emergency repairs, she again sailed north in October, supporting scientific mapping and bathymetric surveys, as well as training for National Science Foundation and University-National Oceanographic Laboratory System early career scientists. 

Acquisition Progress

The Coast Guard continues to make progress in recapitalizing and modernizing its surface and aviation fleets and delivering command-and-control capabilities and shore facility upgrades. 

In late November, the Coast Guard awarded a contract to purchase the M/V Aiviq, a former Arctic oil exploration support vessel, to supplement its icebreaking capability in the polar regions. After initial modifications to ready the vessel for service as a Coast Guard icebreaker, she will join the Healy and Polar Star (WAGB-10).

In addition, during NATO’s 75th anniversary summit in Washington, D.C., the United States announced it would collaborate with Canada and Finland on polar icebreaker construction. This trilateral agreement, which is being implemented through a memorandum of understanding signed in November, is known as the Icebreaker Collaboration Effort, or ICE Pact. 

The Coast Guard also took delivery and accepted three fast response cutters (FRCs) in 2024, including the 58th FRC to enter the fleet, the USCGC John Witherspoon (FRC-1158). The cutter, delivered by Bollinger Shipyards, is the first of three FRCs to be homeported in Alaska. The 10th national security cutter, the USCGC Calhoun (WMSL-759), was commissioned, and production began on Stage 2 offshore patrol cutters at Austal USA in Mobile, Alabama. 

On the aviation side, the service completed missionization, upgrades, and other activities on the HC-144 medium-range surveillance aircraft and MH-65 short-range recovery helicopter fleets. The Coast Guard continued activities to extend the service life of the MH-60T medium-range recovery helicopter fleet and expand the legacy fleet with delivery of the first MH-60T (CGNR 6063, Air Station Astoria, Oregon) outfitted with a newly manufactured hull. In June, the service also awarded a contract for a maritime unmanned aircraft system capability to be deployed on board the national security cutters and potentially other cutters in the future.⁷

The Waters Ahead

Challenges remain for the Coast Guard. Recent reports, including one from the Government Accountability Office, point to gaps in the surface fleet and fewer narcotics interdicted compared with years past. Like the other armed services, the Coast Guard has had to address personnel gaps and maintenance and infrastructure challenges to ensure readiness as calls for its services grow. In an October conversation with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Coast Guard Deputy Commandant for Operations Vice Admiral Pete Gautier was direct: “We can’t be everywhere, all the time.”⁸ 

In its 2024 Operational Posture Statement, the Coast Guard acknowledges it must understand its priorities and recognize where it can take risks to best meet the needs of the American public. The posture is a commitment to transparency with stakeholders as to how it will meet increasing demands. Of note, Admiral Gautier pointed out that available maintenance is about half of what is needed. “As we celebrate Coast Guard Cutter Smilax [WLIC-315], with 80 years of commissioned service, we must also note that we deploy our cutters, boats, and aircraft as much or more than our fellow services and keep them for longer, driving up maintenance costs.” He indicated the capital investment budget needs to bump from its current $1.4 billion to an estimated $3 billion, and the annual overall budget request needs to increase from its current $14 billion to $20 billion by 2033.

Editor’s Note: This article was submitted at the close of 2024 and does not include recent changes within the Coast Guard.