Latest news with #KevinLunday
Associated Press
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service
The U.S. Coast Guard is facing its largest readiness crisis since World War II, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday as she promised an overhaul of the service that she called the 'point of the spear' in the nation's defense. Noem, the keynote speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's commencement, outlined the Trump administration's plans to increase the service's military workforce by at least 15,000 by the end of fiscal year 2028. The plan also calls for reducing the number of admirals by 25%, boosting recruiting efforts and increasing the fleet, including icebreakers that are used in the Arctic. 'A new chapter for America's Coast Guard, one like we have never seen before, starts right now,' she told the 256 cadets, who became newly minted officers from the prestigious service academy in New London, Connecticut. Noem spoke of the Coast Guard being 10% short of its enlisted workforce goals and relying on outdated aircraft and ships, some sailing with 75% of the needed crew members. She recalled a meeting with President Donald Trump, who she said asked what the Coast Guard needed. 'I said sir, they need everything,' Noem said. 'They've been neglected for too long.' Big change is afoot The Coast Guard has more than 43,000 active duty members, 8,000 reservists, and 30,000 auxiliary members. 'We are on the edge of transformational change,' said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, who Noem announced Wednesday will become the service's new commandant. Lunday has been the service's acting commandant since Jan. 21, after Trump fired former Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female leader of the Coast Guard. The administration's modernization plan, called Force Design 2028, officially takes effect on Wednesday, Noem said. Besides increasing the workforce, it calls for the appointment of a dedicated civilian leader to oversee the 234-year-old maritime service, essentially mirroring how the other branches of the U.S. military are led at the Pentagon. Nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the proposed Coast Guard Service Secretary within the Homeland Security Department would advocate for a service 'weakened by decades of underinvestment, neglect and strategic drift,' and create a new level of accountability, according to the plan released Wednesday. Such a change would require congressional approval. Currently, there is at least one bill before Congress that would create such a position. 'Creating a Secretary of the Coast Guard ensures they have the leadership, resources, and support they need to continue their vital missions,' said the bill's author, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell of Mississippi, chair of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, in a recent written statement. 'It's time we give the Coast Guard the same level of recognition and advocacy that other military branches receive.' Coast Guard is now under Homeland Security Control of the Coast Guard was officially transferred from the U.S. Department of Transportation to DHS in 2003. The Commandant of the Coast Guard, a four-star admiral and the highest ranking Coast Guard officer, is now tasked with leading the service. The Coast Guard competes for attention with more than a dozen components of the DHS, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the Trump administration's plan, the appointment of a secretary, accountable to the president and the DHS secretary and subject to congressional oversight, presents an opportunity to reform the service's organizational structure. 'The Coast Guard must be able to conduct its missions and deliver results without being mired in wasteful bureaucracy,' the report reads. Many of the service academy graduates cheered the promised reforms during Wednesday's commencement. Cadet Veronica Krystofik of Colchester, Conn., who was named the Distinguished Graduate of the class of 2025, said Force Design 2028 marks 'the most significant shift in a century.' 'But I'm not worried because I know exactly who is stepping up to that challenge. Our class,' she said. Six international students also graduated on Wednesday. They will return to their native countries' maritime services. ___
The Independent
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Promising reform, Noem tells US Coast Guard Academy graduates they will lead a 'brand new' service
The U.S. Coast Guard is facing its largest readiness crisis since World War II, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Wednesday as she promised an overhaul of the service that she called the 'point of the spear' in the nation's defense. Noem, the keynote speaker at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy's commencement, outlined the Trump administration's plans to increase the service's military workforce by at least 15,000 by the end of fiscal year 2028. The plan also calls for reducing the number of admirals by 25%, boosting recruiting efforts and increasing the fleet, including icebreakers that are used in the Arctic. 'A new chapter for America's Coast Guard, one like we have never seen before, starts right now,' she told the 256 cadets, who became newly minted officers from the prestigious service academy in New London, Connecticut. Noem spoke of the Coast Guard being 10% short of its enlisted workforce goals and relying on outdated aircraft and ships, some sailing with 75% of the needed crew members. She recalled a meeting with President Donald Trump, who she said asked what the Coast Guard needed. 'I said sir, they need everything,' Noem said. 'They've been neglected for too long.' Big change is afoot The Coast Guard has more than 43,000 active duty members, 8,000 reservists, and 30,000 auxiliary members. 'We are on the edge of transformational change,' said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, who Noem announced Wednesday will become the service's new commandant. Lunday has been the service's acting commandant since Jan. 21, after Trump fired former Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, the first female leader of the Coast Guard. The administration's modernization plan, called Force Design 2028, officially takes effect on Wednesday, Noem said. Besides increasing the workforce, it calls for the appointment of a dedicated civilian leader to oversee the 234-year-old maritime service, essentially mirroring how the other branches of the U.S. military are led at the Pentagon. Nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, the proposed Coast Guard Service Secretary within the Homeland Security Department would advocate for a service 'weakened by decades of underinvestment, neglect and strategic drift,' and create a new level of accountability, according to the plan released Wednesday. Such a change would require congressional approval. Currently, there is at least one bill before Congress that would create such a position. 'Creating a Secretary of the Coast Guard ensures they have the leadership, resources, and support they need to continue their vital missions,' said the bill's author, Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell of Mississippi, chair of the House Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, in a recent written statement. 'It's time we give the Coast Guard the same level of recognition and advocacy that other military branches receive.' Coast Guard is now under Homeland Security Control of the Coast Guard was officially transferred from the U.S. Department of Transportation to DHS in 2003. The Commandant of the Coast Guard, a four-star admiral and the highest ranking Coast Guard officer, is now tasked with leading the service. The Coast Guard competes for attention with more than a dozen components of the DHS, including U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Under the Trump administration's plan, the appointment of a secretary, accountable to the president and the DHS secretary and subject to congressional oversight, presents an opportunity to reform the service's organizational structure. 'The Coast Guard must be able to conduct its missions and deliver results without being mired in wasteful bureaucracy,' the report reads. Many of the service academy graduates cheered the promised reforms during Wednesday's commencement. Cadet Veronica Krystofik of Colchester, Conn., who was named the Distinguished Graduate of the class of 2025, said Force Design 2028 marks 'the most significant shift in a century.' 'But I'm not worried because I know exactly who is stepping up to that challenge. Our class,' she said.
Boston Globe
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Homeland Security looks to buy a new $50m jet for secretary and Coast Guard officials
Advertisement The request for a new jet comes as President Donald Trump considers accepting a luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet as a gift from the ruling family of Qatar. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Adm. Kevin Lunday, the acting commandant, said the Coast Guard, like the other military services, operates two military 'long-range command and control aircraft' and the one being replaced is more than 20 years old. 'Like a lot of the rest of our operational aviation fleet and our cutters and our boats and our shore facilities, it's old and it's approaching obsolescence and the end of its service life,' he said during the hearing. 'The avionics are increasingly obsolete. The communications are increasingly unreliable, and it is in need of recapitalization like much of the fleet.' Advertisement Lunday, who became acting commandant on Jan. 21 after Trump, a Republican, fired Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, said the jet is needed to provide the DHS secretary, deputy secretary, himself, the acting vice commandant and two area commanders with 'secure, reliable, on-demand communications and movement to go forward.' The current plane is also 'outside the Gulfstream's service life, and well beyond operational usage hours for a corporate aircraft,' Assistant DHS Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a written statement, calling its replacement 'a matter of safety.' The agency did not immediately respond to questions about Noem's use of the plane or other details about the agency's request. The Coast Guard received its other long-range command and control C-37B aircraft in 2022, saying at the time its mission was to 'operate as a command and control platform anywhere in the world for the secretary of Homeland Security, the commandant of the Coast Guard, and other top DHS leadership.' That jet, which has a range of 5,000 nautical miles and can carry 12 people, is based at Coast Guard Air Station Washington, D.C.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Coast Guard Secretary? The Trump Administration Is Planning a Big Redesign of the Service.
The Coast Guard is planning a radical redesign that includes more personnel, improved technology and acquisition systems, and changes to its organization that include a service secretary. Exact details of the service's transformation, known as "Force Design 2028," have not been released, but plans call for changes in personnel policy, including modernization of the Coast Guard Reserve and civilian management; restructuring at the headquarters level; and improvements to acquisitions processes and information technology systems, according to an April 3 news release. "We are executing transformational change to renew the Coast Guard," Acting Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday said in a statement to on Friday. "Force Design 2028 will ensure the Coast Guard remains Semper Paratus, Always Ready, to serve the American people." Read Next: Book Purge at Service Academy a 'Blatant Attack' on Free Speech, Democratic Lawmakers Say According to the Coast Guard, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem directed the restructure. Sean Plankey, billed as "senior adviser to the secretary for the Coast Guard," is leading the effort. Plankey, a Coast Guard Academy alumnus who deployed in 2013 to Afghanistan, is the Trump administration's nominee to head the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. He previously served as the National Security Council's director of cyber policy and the Navy's chief information officer. Unlike its fellow services in the Department of Defense, the Coast Guard does not have a service secretary. Its military leader, the commandant, reports directly to the Homeland Security secretary. Force Design 2028 calls for creating a secretariat along with several other headquarters positions, including a director of staff, a Force Design implementation team, and an assistant commandant position for operational integration and response policy. The operational integration and response policy assistant commandant would be responsible for increasing "decision-making speed and resource allocation to operational commanders" and working with the Joint Staff and across the national security federal infrastructure, according to the Coast Guard. Republican Sens. Rick Scott of Florida and Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia introduced a bill last week that would create the Coast Guard secretary position. According to the proposed legislation, the secretary would report directly to the Department of Homeland Security secretary and, in cases when the Coast Guard serves as a service within the Navy, would advise the Navy secretary on Coast Guard-related matters. According to the bill, the commandant would report to the civilian Coast Guard secretary and, in cases where the Coast Guard operates under the Navy, report to the Navy secretary. "The establishment of a secretary of the Coast Guard is an important step in ensuring our nation's maritime security is led with the strength and efficiency it deserves to ensure it can fulfill its mission and adapt to any challenges," Scott said in a news release April 1. Rep. Mike Ezell, R-Miss., introduced similar legislation in the House the same day. According to the Coast Guard, efforts have already begun on the force restructuring, beginning with a review of physical standards to align with the Defense Department's standards "to the maximum extent possible." In March, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of military standards "pertaining to physical fitness, body composition and grooming, which includes but is not limited to beards." The Coast Guard has physical fitness requirements for recruits, cadets and officer candidates and fitness tests for certain operational units but does not have a standardized physical fitness evaluation program for all members. It does, however, conduct body composition screenings. In 2021, the service instituted an option that members could select abdominal circumference as a measurement rather than the traditional tape test of different parts of the body that negatively affected some women and extremely muscular service members whose measurements didn't meet the standards set for their height. Force Design 2028 also will "restore maximum discretion" to commanders and officers-in-charge on the use of nonjudicial punishment. In 2023, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that standardized the burden of proof for the services to issue nonjudicial punishments, requiring that commanders need only a "preponderance of evidence" to mete out punishment. Previously, some of the services required proof beyond a reasonable doubt for a commander to punish a member. "This change is consistent with the ultimate responsibility entrusted to commanders to maintain good order and discipline at their units," according to the Coast Guard. Among the planned organizational changes under the redesign is an effort to delegate operational responsibility to the "appropriate levels of command" -- for example, giving coxswains and commanding officers of cutters pursuing noncompliant vessels use-of-force decision authority -- and restructuring the offices of the deputies for personnel readiness and material readiness. According to the service, the changes are needed to provide better support to service members and their families and oversee management of ships, aircraft and shore infrastructure. Regarding acquisitions and contracts, the service plans to simplify procedures and authorize direct purchases on some goods and services to speed up delivery, and work with the Defense Innovation Unit to improve contracting speed and procurement, as well as transparency. And the redesign calls for the service to adopt cutting-edge technology systems to improve data sharing and situational and operational awareness. According to the service, a "Rapid Response Rapid Prototype Team" will oversee technology solutions for all aspects of Coast Guard performance, including operations, engineering, acquisitions, finance, information technology, logistics, data science and change management. Lunday has served as acting commandant since Jan. 21, when the Trump administration fired Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan for loss of confidence in her command based on recruiting concerns, border security and the service's focus on diversity. The service has not announced a nominee for the permanent position of commandant. Lunday has a strong operational background, having led the Coast Guard's 14th District and Atlantic Area, but also experience in cyber operations, leading the service's Cyber Command and working as director of exercises and training at U.S. Cyber Command. In a statement to Lunday said Force Design 2028 will make the service more "agile, capable and responsive." "FD 2028 is the way forward for our service and will ensure our ability to ensure U.S. national security and economic prosperity for decades to come," Lunday said. Related: $7 Billion Coast Guard Maintenance Backlog Looms as Lawmakers Decry 'Unacceptable' Conditions
Fox News
29-01-2025
- Fox News
Coast Guard stops boat carrying 21 illegal immigrants heading toward San Diego
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday evening intercepted a boat carrying 21 illegal immigrants from three countries headed toward San Diego. U.S. Customs and Border Protection notified Coast Guard officials at the Joint Harbor Operations Center around 10:45 p.m. of a 40-foot panga-style vessel traveling north approximately 40 miles from the maritime boundary line, the Coast Guard said in a Wednesday press release. Two Coast Guard cutter teams, with help from CBP, were able to stop the boat, at which point they discovered that it was carrying 21 passengers. "Initial interviews revealed that all individuals claimed Mexican nationality, although subsequent checks identified two passengers as Guatemalan and Salvadoran nationals," the Coast Guard said in its press release. The passengers were safely transferred to CBP custody. The boat encounter comes amid a national crackdown on illegal immigration and border security under the new Trump administration. The Coast Guard is also supporting the national transportation of illegal immigrants to designated locations in Texas and California, where the Department of Defense will then transport those in custody internationally. "In accordance with the President's Executive Orders, the Coast Guard continues to surge assets and leverage its unique capabilities to protect America's borders, territorial integrity, and sovereignty," the Coast Guard acting commandant, Adm. Kevin Lunday, said in a Jan. 25 statement. The Department of Homeland Security says it has made 7,300 illegal immigrant arrests in the last week alone.
