Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan salutes the national ensign while embarking U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Calhoun (WMSL-759), April 20, 2024. US Coast Guard Photo
The acting secretary of Homeland Security removed the Coast Guard commandant from her position, according to a message to the service reviewed by USNI News.
An ALCOAST, which is a message to all members of the Coast Guard, announced the relief of Adm. Linda Fagan to the service. The message did not give a reason for Fagan’s removal.
“Under my statutory authority as the Acting Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security I have relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” reads the ALCOAST message.
Fagan was the first female commandant of the Coast Guard. She assumed duties as commandant on June 1, 2022.
A senior Department of Homeland Security told USNI News in a statement that Fagan’s termination was due to “leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard.”
Fox News first reported Fagan’s termination.
Vice Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday will take over as acting commandant, according to the ALCOAST message.
Lunday confirmed he took over as acting commandant in a message to the service.
“Our duty to our nation and the American people we serve remains unchanged, and the Coast Guard remains Semper Paratus. Continue to execute our missions and operations with the excellence we are renowned for,” reads his message.
The senior DHS official gave five reasons for Fagan’s relief. DHS found that Fagan failed to address the border security threats, including interdicting fentanyl and other illicit substances. Law enforcement is part of the tasks of the Coast Guard. A September Government Accountability Office report found that the Coast Guard’s recruiting issues and aging fleet were hampering the service’s ability to police drug smuggling. In November, the Coast Guard seized more than 29,000 pounds of illicit drugs with a street value of nearly $336 million.
DHS also linked Fagan to recruiting shortfalls, adding that she did not bring innovative strategies to address retention challenges. Recruitment is getting better, with the Coast Guard exceeding its goals in the last fiscal year and on track to meet its goals this year, Command Master Chief for the Coast Guard Pacific Area Maria D’Angelo told the audience at a Surface Navy Association national symposium panel last week. Boot camp is already filled until the second week of April, he said.
But it will take three to five years of meeting recruiting goals to heal the gaps, D’Angelo said.
To account for the gaps in people, the Coast Guard introduced the Force Alignment Initiative, which saw the service temporarily shut down some stations, many that had overlapping areas of response, D’Angelo said. That allowed the service to force multiply to the units that needed people.
The senior DHS official also pointed to delays and cost overruns in acquiring icebreakers and helicopters as one of the reasons for Fagan’s relief. The Coast Guard’s current icebreakers are aging and have suffered problems that prevent them from meeting mission requirements. The Coast Guard is in the process of acquiring a commercial icebreaker, which will take two years to convert. The Coast Guard’s first Polar Security Cutter, USCGC Polar Sentinel (PSC-1), is expected to be delivered in 2028, a delay of three years.
Besides people, funding is one of the Coast Guard’s biggest concerns.
Fagan called for an increased budget, going from $14 billion to $20, USNI News previously reported. Vice Adm. Andrew Tiongson, commander of Coast Guard Pacific Area, echoed those calls in his speech at SNA last week.
“In order to continue being the over force multiplier and strong, trusted partner at home and abroad, and the unique combination of military law enforcement that has been operating around the world, we need to be funded like we are an over $20 billion organization, and we need that fast,” Tiongson said.
The lack of funding has led to issues with the aging fleet, Tiongson said. Many of the ships are well into their lifespans, and he added that the service cannot meet its missions without the modernizing its fleet.
The fourth reason listed for Fagan’s dismissal is the “excessive focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies,” which diverted resources from mission initiatives, according to the senior DHS official’s statement.
The last reason is the mishandling and coverup of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the investigation into sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy. A House Committee on Oversight and Accountability memorandum found that the Coast Guard withheld the operation from Congress and the public. In the statement, the senior DHS official wrote that the mishandling eroded trust in the Coast Guard among the public and guardsmen.
Fagan, who is the first woman in the Coast Guard to receive four stars, served as vice commandant before the Biden administration tapped her to lead the service. She also served as the head of the Coast Guard Pacific Area before she took over as the Coast Guard’s number two officer.
