News
Coast Guard breaks 18-year record with $250 million drug bust
The U.S. Coast Guard set a new record for the largest drug seizure made at sea in 18 years, which also turned out to be the largest bust ever in the history of its tactical helicopter unit. The California-based Coast Guard cutter Munro announced the news after returning Sunday from a 119-day deployment that began in November of last year. Sailing in the Eastern Pacific, the Munro spotted a go-fast...[Read More]
Coast Guard clarifies hate symbol policy
References in U.S. Coast Guard policy calling hate symbols “potentially divisive” were removed Thursday, and a U.S. senator said she was lifting a hold she had placed on a nomination for the service’s top job. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, whose agency oversees the Coast Guard, said on social media that the latest changes were made so no one can “misrepresent” the branch’s position. “Th...[Read More]
Coast Guard hurt drug interdiction by focusing on migrants, GAO says
The U.S. Coast Guard didn’t meet its drug interdiction goals for 10 years, in part because it redirected a bulk of its efforts toward migrant interdiction at sea, an independent government watchdog found. The Coast Guard failed to meet its metrics for drug interdiction efforts between 2015 and 2024 and missed its migrant interdiction goals for six of those years, despite funneling resources from d...[Read More]
Coast Guard hurt drug interdiction by focusing on migrants, GAO says
The U.S. Coast Guard didn’t meet its drug interdiction goals for 10 years, in part because it redirected a bulk of its efforts toward migrant interdiction at sea, an independent government watchdog found. The Coast Guard failed to meet its metrics for drug interdiction efforts between 2015 and 2024 and missed its migrant interdiction goals for six of those years, despite funneling resources from d...[Read More]
Coast Guard is Pursuing Another Tanker Helping Venezuela Skirt Sanctions, US Official Says
The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly about the ongoing operation and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the vessel was flying a false flag and under a judicial seizure order.
Coast Guard monitors Chinese research vessel as it cuts through sovereign-US waters to the Arctic
The U.S. Coast Guard began tracking a Chinese research vessel last week near the Arctic to ensure compliance with international law, the service announced. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro observed the Chinese ship Xue Long as it transited through the U.S. exclusive economic zone and over the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Bering Sea toward the Arctic. “Alongside the Department of War, th...[Read More]
Coast Guard operations, capabilities damaged by continued shutdown, says vice commandant
Active-duty Coast Guard personnel have been paid through the partial government shutdown but the standoff is affecting civilian employees, recruiting, maintenance and non-emergency operations, the service’s vice commandant said Wednesday. According to Adm. Thomas Allan, civilian workers have not received a paycheck since Feb. 14, and the service has stopped processing merchant mariner credentials,...[Read More]
Coast Guard plans new medal for fittest troops
As the Coast Guard rolls out its first-ever universal physical fitness test, leaders are eyeing incentives for acing it. The service, which will debut a mandatory three-event physical fitness assessment July 1, also plans to introduce a medal for those who receive top scores, said Capt. Chris Hulser, chief of staff and executive assistant to the commandant of the Coast Guard. The test, which inclu...[Read More]
Coast Guard relieves commander of Alaska-based cutter
The Coast Guard temporarily relieved the commander of the fast response cutter Douglas Denman, based in Ketchikan, Alaska, on Monday. Lt. Edwin Kuster, a 2017 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, was removed “following an investigation leading to a loss of confidence” but was not related to misconduct, according to a Coast Guard media release. A Coast Guard spokeswoman said Tuesday the servic...[Read More]
Coast Guard reporting of sexual assault cases still lacking, GAO finds
The U.S. Coast Guard is facing further scrutiny after a recent Government Accountability Office report cited ongoing failures in how the service has reported cases of sexual assault and harassment to Congress since 2022. The GAO found that in a 2022 report to Congress on this issue, the Coast Guard reported 226 incidents of sexual assault and 88 incidents of sexual harassment. That report, however...[Read More]
Coast Guard rescue swimmer dies from injuries sustained during maritime mission
A U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer died Thursday from injuries he suffered while responding to a distressed mariner aboard a large vessel offshore of Washington state. Petty Officer 2nd Class Tyler Jaggers was deployed to the vessel as part of a helicopter medical evaluation team, according to a U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers Friday Instagram post. Jaggers was posthumously granted one of the nati...[Read More]
Coast Guard rescues cruise ship stuck in Antarctic ice
The U.S. Coast Guard dispatched its most powerful ship and heaviest icebreaker to help set free an Australian-owned cruise ship that was wedged in ice in Antarctica on Jan. 17. The Polar Star, which boasts up to 75,000 horsepower, sliced through thick sheets of ice to wrestle free the Scenic Eclipse II from its immovable position, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a release Friday. But the day was note...[Read More]