By Bradley Devlin | The Daily Signal
Has the Biden-Harris administration’s focus on so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion undermined the U.S. Coast Guard’s readiness?
Reps. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., and Eli Crane, R-Ariz., believe it may have and are demanding answers from top Biden-Harris administration officials.
In a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Linda Fagan provided to The Daily Signal, Crane and Gaetz ask if “indoctrination training” is undercutting the Coast Guard’s readiness.
“We have heard from service members concerned with trainings and events they believe to be extraneous to mission-critical tasks, specifically Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusivity training programs,” Crane and Gaetz write.
Based on the word of service members, the congressmen inquire how these sexual orientation and gender identity inclusivity trainings could be contributing to the current crisis the Coast Guard faces.
“USCG [U.S. Coast Guard] has reported that it is about 4,800 members short and has missed its recruiting targets for the past four fiscal years,” the pair of lawmakers go on to say.
The persistent shortage has led to the service branch decommissioning ships and other assets, resulting in a vicious cycle that “increas[es] the burden on remaining assets” and makes serving in the Coast Guard more difficult for current members and more unattractive for potential recruits.
One example Gaetz and Crane cite is a “Transgender Shipmates Inclusion Training” that the Coast Guard promoted in official announcements to its service members.
While Gaetz and Crane say they are “unaware of how SOGI inclusivity training and events assist in resolving recruitment and retention challenges that threaten our operational readiness and national security needs,” the pair believe—based on what service members have told them—that
“SOGI inclusivity programs and other indoctrination programs only serve to separate and isolate our service members into groups based on categories and preferences that are irrelevant to the overall mission of national security.”
“We ask you to end SOGI inclusivity training programs within the USCG and focus on mission-critical operations,” the congressmen conclude.
First published on The Daily Signal
Crane-Gaetz_Letter_to_DHS-USCG_re_Operational_Readiness_SOGI_Trainings (pdf)
Secretary Mayorkas and Commandant Fagan:
We are writing to raise concerns voiced by service members that affect operational readiness of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) amidst its decision to temporarily decommission ships due to staffing shortages.1
As you know, USCG has reported that it is about 4,800 members short and has missed its recruiting targets for the past four fiscal years.2
We have also learned that the recruiting shortfall has resulted in the closure of USCG satellite boat stations in various districts, limiting the agency’s ability to monitor illicit maritime activities.3
Additionally, the decommissioning of numerous USCG ships creates a significant gap in our maritime operations by increasing the burden on remaining assets, thus shortening the lifecycle of ships due to continuous usage, and creates a hardship on USCG members to relocate to new bases due to their prior ships being decommissioned.
Also contributing to lower retention and recruitment is indoctrination training.
We have heard from service members concerned with trainings and events they believe to be extraneous to mission critical tasks, specifically Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusivity training programs, including the attached examples of official USCG announcements encouraging service member participation in Transgender Shipmates Inclusion Training.4
We are concerned with these reports and disclosures and request answers to the following questions:
1. What initiatives are in place to improve manning shortages? Please provide details on any revisions to previous strategies, new strategies moving forward, and available statistics on their effectiveness.
2. What is the plan for the recommissioning of these ships, if there is any? When can we expect them to return to service, and what steps are being taken to expedite this process?
3. How do SOGI inclusivity training and events assist in improving manning issues – both retention and recruitment – within the USCG? Please provide supporting data.
4. What was the turnout for this specific event (on July 31, 2024) and the number of individuals who were notified about it? If exact figures are not available, an estimate will suffice.
5. How much of the USCG’s budget has been spent on developing and carrying out SOGI inclusivity trainings and events within the last three fiscal years?
6. What is the statutory authority or USCG directive relied upon to develop and carry out USCG SOGI inclusivity trainings and events?
7. Do USCG personnel who attend SOGI inclusivity training events receive promotion points or recognition?
8. Are USCG members attending these SOGI inclusivity trainings during work hours or as elective classes after duty hours?
9. If USCG ended SOGI inclusivity training, what would be the overall cost savings and additional training hours available to the USCG for mission-critical preparation?
We understand the USCG often loses service members due to higher-paying jobs in the private sector or due to limited opportunities for promotion and long work hours.
However, we are unaware of how SOGI inclusivity training and events assist in resolving recruitment and retention challenges that threaten our operational readiness and national security needs.
The best recruiting and retention tool at the USCG’s disposal is sailors on ships, patrolling their areas of responsibilities and preforming mission-critical training. SOGI inclusivity programs and other indoctrination programs only serve to separate and isolate our service members into groups based on categories and preferences that are irrelevant to the overall mission of national security.
We ask you to end SOGI inclusivity training programs within the USCG and focus on mission critical operations.
Please transmit answers to the questions posed in this letter to our Military Legislative Assistants, Mr. Dominick Namias, at Dominick.Namias@mail.house.gov and Mr. Derrick Miller at Derrick.Miller@mail.house.gov, by October 1, 2024.
1 https://seapowermagazine.org/coast-guard-to-lay-up-some-cutters-boats-in-face-of-recruit-shortfall/
2 https://www.gao.gov/assets/gao-23-106750.pdf
3 Coast Guard weathers operational cutbacks amid serious personnel shortage (federalnewsnetwork.com)
4 Base Alameda Weekly Newsletter – News Alerts for the week of 15 July – 21 July 2024
Commandant: Celebrate Pride Month by “living your truth” By Adm. Linda Fagan, Commandant, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, 5 June 2024
Coast Guard Spectrum – Living Our Truth
Spectrum’s mission statement: “Coast Guard Spectrum aims to create a welcoming, supportive, and affirming community centered on Coast Guard Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, Intersex, Asexual, Pansexual, and Queer employees, Auxiliarists, families, veterans, and allies.”
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