Coast Guard Commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus: official

The Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard has been terminated over considerations in regards to the border, recruitment and an “erosion of belief,” a senior DHS official confirmed to Fox Information.

Adm. Linda Lee Fagan, 61, has been terminated by the Appearing Secretary of Homeland Safety Benjamine Huffman, the official mentioned.

Fagan has demonstrated management deficiencies, operational failures and an lack of ability to advance the strategic aims of the Coast Guard.

These embody the failure to handle border safety threats, inadequate management in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in buying key acquisitions equivalent to icebreakers and helicopters, extreme give attention to range, fairness and inclusion initiatives and an “erosion of belief” over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor, which was the Coast Guard’s inside investigation into sexual assault instances on the Coast Guard Academy.

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Fagan is accused of ineffective deployment of Coast Guard property to assist nationwide border safety, together with in intercepting fentanyl and different illicit substances. She additionally had inadequate coordination with DHS to prioritize operations alongside maritime borders.

The DHS official mentioned Fagan had important failures in recruiting personnel, which worsened points associated to operational readiness. The official added that the shortage of progressive methods to handle retention struggles in crucial specialties weakened workforce sustainability.

Underneath her management, there have been additionally persistent delays and price overruns in buying important platforms, together with icebreakers and helicopters, that the official mentioned undermined Coast Guard capabilities within the Arctic and different strategic areas. The official additional cited insufficient accountability for acquisition failures that had been highlighted throughout President Trump’s first administration.

Fagan additionally made DEI insurance policies a precedence, together with on the Coast Guard Academy, which diverted assets and focus from operational necessities.

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Adm. Linda Fagan attends the US Coast Guard (USCG) change of command ceremony at USCG Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 1, 2022. (Getty Pictures)

In Operation Fouled Anchor, the cover-up of sexual assaults on the U.S. Coast Guard Academy “deeply eroded belief” within the Coast Guard among the many American public, the U.S. Congress and the navy. The Coast Guard didn’t disclose the existence of Operation Fouled Anchor till 2023, regardless of its existence from 2014 to 2019.

Fagan was grilled by senators over the summer time when she testified at a listening to on Capitol Hill, the place she was questioned for not holding anybody accountable for the cover-up and withholding extra paperwork congressional lawmakers requested in regards to the mishandling of the issue on the service’s academy.

The official mentioned the failure to sufficiently deal with the systemic points revealed by the investigation has highlighted a “management tradition” unwilling to make sure accountability and transparency in defending service members.

Adm. Linda Fagan speaks throughout a Senate Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations listening to on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Getty Pictures)

Fagan served because the twenty seventh Commandant of the Coast Guard beginning on June 1st, 2022. She was tasked with overseeing all international Coast Guard operations and 42,000 active-duty, 7,000 reserve and eight,700 civilian personnel, in addition to the assist of 21,000 Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers.

She was the primary girl to steer the Coast Guard or any department of the U.S. navy.

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