T H E C O M M A N D A N T
of the United States Coast Guard
As we have for 230 years, the United States Coast Guard continues to address emerging national priorities in the Homeland and across the globe– saving those in peril, thwarting illicit and coercive maritime activities, and fostering economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. Demand for Coast Guard services has never been higher, and I am extremely proud of the mission excellence we delivered to the Nation in 2019. We surged our forces in response to natural disasters around the world – including the devastating impacts to the Northern Bahamas from Hurricane Dorian - saving lives and providing leadership in times of crisis. We employed new capabilities and techniques, including the use of unmanned aerial systems, to combat transnational criminal organizations who use narco-submarines and other illicit craft to smuggle drugs and contraband destined for U.S. soil. We deployed two National Security Cutters, our flagship capability, to the Indo-Pacific Theater to support Department of Defense objectives and build partner-nation capacity in the region. We continued to work across government and the maritime industry to keep pace with the ever-evolving cyber domain and address cyber risks to critical infrastructure. Once again, we sent our aging icebreakers to the Arctic and Antarctic to serve as the Nation’s primary presence in the Polar Regions. Throughout 2019, whenever and wherever the nation needed its Coast Guard, we were there.
The Coast Guard provides exceptional service to the American taxpayer, but increasing mission demands and constrained resource levels continue to challenge Service readiness for both steady-state missions and contingency operations. The strong support we received in our Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Enacted Budget enabled us to begin addressing our long-standing readiness gap. To sustain that momentum, the FY 2021 Budget priorities directly reflect our intense and continued focus on READINESS. While our new assets provide the Coast Guard with remarkable capability, we must ensure we can properly train, equip, and sustain the workforce, information technology systems, and shore infrastructure necessary to operate and maintain these assets. Such investments are essential mission-enablers, ensuring our operational success today and revolutionizing the way we conduct operations in the future.
A mission-ready total workforce is the cornerstone of our success, and it is my absolute highest priority to provide our workforce with the tools, resources, and policies that will enable them to succeed wherever they serve. FY 2019 proved to be an impactful year in the development of personnel management policies that advance inclusion and diversity and that improve the support we provide our members. We will continue to develop and implement strategies and solutions that maximize readiness and enable us to recruit, train, and retain a workforce that is representative of the American public the Coast Guard serves. We remain committed to thinking differently, challenging the status quo, and creating an environment that not only attracts the best of America’s diverse talent, but also provides a rich experience that makes the Coast Guard an employer of choice in a competitive marketplace for talent.
Our FY 2021 President’s Budget request is a direct reflection of our continued focus and commitment to restoring Coast Guard readiness. It is my absolute highest priority to provide our workforce with the tools, resources, and policies that will enable them to succeed wherever they serve. With the continued support of Congress, we will continue to live up to our motto: Semper Paratus – Always Ready.
Semper Paratus
Admiral Karl L. Schultz