The Future of the Coast Guard
Brookings Institution
June 28, 2021, at 2:00 PM ET
Participants:
Admiral Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
Michael E. O’Hanlon, Director of Research – Foreign Policy
The Brookings Institution conducted an interview with Admiral Schultz, the Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, to discuss the direction of the United States Coast Guard. Admiral Schultz expressed how important the United States Coast Guard is when considering possible adversaries in the future. He described the Coast Guard as the bridge between diplomacy and lethality. The Admiral expressed that the Fiscal Year 2022 budget and budgets of recent years have been able to boost operational support and can allow for a greater number of Coast Guardsmen to be deployed.
However, Admiral Schultz did express the need for the Coast Guard budget to be increasing at a higher rate when compared to the Department of Defense budgets. He expressed that the Coast Guard is dealing with a lower budget so the request for a 3.5% budget increase is not as costly had another Military branch asked for such an increase. Admiral Schultz also remarked how for many US trade partners and within the United States the Coast Guard is currently highly needed.
The Coast Guard’s influence can certainly be felt within the United States, as the Admiral described the hard work that US Guardsmen went through to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas in 2017. Admiral Schultz described that there has been a recent increase in extreme weather events and that the Coast Guard is prepared to handle these issues. The importance of the artic for trade was clearly detailed by the Admiral, as he described fishing in Alaska accounts for almost 50% of American fish eaten.
Admiral Schultz stated that “presence equals influence in the arctic.” The Admiral stated that Russia would most likely work with the Coast Guard over other military branches and that they would be able to communicate a pragmatic dialogue.
When asked about what the greatest concern is for the Coast Guard, Admiral Schultz stated that the Arabian Gulf remains a high level of concern, as well as counternarcotic campaigns in the Western Hemisphere. For the latter, the Admiral stated the Coast Guards’ counternarcotic work has sustained and even excelled during the pandemic.
The dialogue between Admiral Shultz and Mr. O’Hanlon concluded with a discussion of current Coast Guard recruitment and retainment. Admiral Schultz explained that the Coast Guard is going to begin a reserve component for pilots. The Admiral discussed that the Coast Guard is going to invest in technology to increase recruitment. Admiral Schultz ended the meeting by addressing the younger audience listening to the discussion, stating the “Coast Guard is hiring.”
The full discussion between Admiral Schultz and Mr. O’Hanlon can be found here.