Admiral Linda L. Fagan
Homeland Security officials have removed Adm. Linda Fagan from her role as the Coast Guard’s commandant, according to a note sent to service members — the first firing of a top military officer under the Trump administration.
I have reproduced the linked ALCOAST below.
DHS Secretary did not give a reason for the dismissal but apparently someone gave the reasons to Fox, “Coast Guard commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus: official.”
I have not always agreed with Admiral Fagan’s positions, but she has had some notable successes. As Pacific Area Commander she pushed out the operating envelop of the Fast Response Cutters to include distant operations in the Eastern Pacific Drug Transit Zone and the Western Pacific. Alien migrant interdiction seems to be working well.
Admiral Fagan seems to have solved our long running recruitment problem. In 2024,
For the first time since 2007, the Coast Guard has achieved all its recruiting missions for enlisted active duty, the Reserve, and Non-Academy Officer Candidate School (OCS) accessions.
Fox sites, “mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters.” Admiral Fagan has only been Commandant since June 2022. Contracts for icebreakers and helicopters predate her selection as Commandant.The “Fouled Anchor” report was mentioned. It came in January 2020, a year and a half before she became commandant and reported on events that occurred 2006 or earlier.
A parts procurement problem for our now 40 year old H-65s helicopters, was identified in 2021 and the Coast Guard made the decision to go to a uniform fleet of H-60s, but it is a long-term program. (meanwhile, “Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Gets 16 New Helicopters“) The program hit a bump when there was a reduction in pre-SLEP operational life of H-60s from 20,000 to 19,000 hours, but it seems manageable.
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- “Coast Guard awards hull contract as part of MH-60T sustainment effort” –CG-9, January 2021
- “Coast Guard to SLEP, Expand MH-60T Helicopter Fleet as Sikorsky Delivers First New Airframe” –Seapower / Implications for Cutters, December 2023
- “Coast Guard takes next steps toward all MH-60T helicopter fleet ” –CG-9, January 2024
- Change is Coming, “Coast Guard delivers first MH-60T to new Air Station Ventura” –News Release, August 2024
As for the difficulties with the Polar Security Cutter, the choice of the shipyard and the decision to accept an unproven design, rather than that of an already operational icebreaker, as was required in the initial request for proposal, happened during the first Trump administration.
On April 23, 2019, the Coast Guard-Navy Integrated Program Office for the PSC program awarded a $745.9 million fixed-price, incentive-firm contract for the detail design and construction (DD&C) of the first PSC to Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, MS, a shipyard that as owned by Singapore Technologies (ST) Engineering.
Admiral Fagan has been pointing out shortfalls in support for the Coast Guard.
My own evaluation is that Admiral Fagan has been one of the more effective Coast Guard Commandants we have had in this century. I am sorry to see her go.
I expect the Chief of Naval Operations will be next.
ALCOAST 021/25 – JAN 2025 LEADERSHIP NOTIFICATION TO USCG WORKFORCE
U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 01/21/2025 07:25 AM EST
O 210536Z JAN 25 MID180001563582U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 021/25
SSIC 1000
SUBJ: LEADERSHIP NOTIFICATION TO USCG WORKFORCE
1.To All Hands:
The following message is forwarded on behalf of Acting Secretary of
Homeland Security Huffman.
Under my statutory authority as the Acting Secretary of the
Department of Homeland Security I have relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan
of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard.
She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her
service to our nation. Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, by operation of law,
is now the Acting Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and
assumes all the authority and responsibilities of the office.
2. Benjamine C. Huffman, Acting DHS Secretary, sends.
3. Internet release is authorized.
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Airbus stopped producing replacement parts for the H-65 in 2018, which leave either China or India as possible sources for replacement parts…
Thanks for taking the time to get this out into the ether! It is important.
BZ and Semper Paratus!
Chuck, has a Commandant been terminated by an incoming president before? Is this a first?
Good Question, and the answer is no never all the way back to 1889 before there was a Coast Guard.
Commandant of the Coast Guard – Wikipedia
In reading up on their changes to meet recruiting goals. Of several things helping them improve, they have helped immigrants in completing their naturalization process so as to enlist. The actual Coast Guard Page explaining this has already been taken down today. Still shows up if you google “Coast Guard Recruits New Americans”
Another concern I have with their stated reasoning. How much fentanyl is moving through the Coast Guard’s area of responsibility? From what I see the end product is produced in Mexico and coming across the border. Some comes in via cargo and is found primarily by customs and border. What specifically was the Coast Guard failure here? We know cutter availability is off for drug interdiction patrols because we don’t have new cutters. We didn’t even award the second OPC yard until after Fagan was Commandant and the facilities to build them are being erected now. Eastern is what it is. How many current shipbuilding programs have performed better than the current Coast Guard programs?
The New Zealand Navy has a position she can fill.
She didn’t do anything wrong. I suspect this is the first action in support of dismantling DEI programs, in that they know or suspect that she was selected for Commandant in furtherance of DEI goals.
“ADM Fagan. End your DEI programs now.” That might have worked. Or is it just me?
The firing of Admiral Fagan
Several hours ago DHS officials announced the firing of Admiral Linda Fagan, the 27th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. The reasons cited do not add up. This termination is wrong. I personally know Admiral Fagan to be a strong leader who has been incredibly positive for the Coast Guard. Various news articles reference failure to address border security, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on DEI initiatives and an erosion of trust over the mishandling of Operation Fouled Anchor. Regarding border security… this year, as in every year the Coast Guard is holding the line against illegal incursions of all types including drugs, weapons, and people. Under Admiral Fagan’s leadership the Coast Guard has continued to defend the border despite a chronically insufficient budget, too few ships, personnel and other challenges not of Admiral Fagan’s making. The issues with recruitment and retention started well before Admiral Fagan’s tenure. She has worked hard to fix them and recently the Coast Guard exceeded its recruiting goals for the first time in several years. Retention is also on the rise and well on its way to regaining its previous historically high levels. I don’t even know what to say about allegations that Admiral Fagan has mismanaged major acquisitions. Again, the problems cited were years, even decades in the making and I have personally seen how Admiral Fagan’s leadership has positively impacted current efforts. The Coast Guard is moving forward on these acquisitions, some of which have languished for years. We are moving forward specifically because of Admiral Fagan’s strong leadership. Decision makers may be conflating Admiral Fagan’s work to ensure that the Coast Guard’s culture provides a positive environment for the entire workforce, with an excessive focus on DEI initiatives. I don’t understand how anyone can object to improving the culture and ensuring that Coast Guard men and women live and work in a fair environment free from harassment and bullying. Finally, the roots of Operation Fouled Anchor lie in leadership failures going back many decades to address harassment and assaults in the service. Admiral Fagan is the first Commandant to significantly address the problem. She has put in place major policy changes that will largely prevent such failures going forward. Admiral Fagan’s firing is wrong. There is no other way to say it. She is an honorable officer who has given her entire life to the Coast Guard and this is the wrong way for the new administration to end her career.
Charles Skip Bowen Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard retired
It has also been pointed out that the order to focus iscg resources to secure the bordr happened minutes after she was rmoved. Implication feedback was provided with immediate consequence.
The Coast Guard was already patrolling the border, and the system seemed to be working. I am curious what we will do differently.
That was my understanding as well, CG has been patrolling the maritime border/EEZ as part of their statutory missions.
With our presence in other areas of the world, particularly the Pacific, what assets are available to surge right now? And for how long?
Maybe the announcement from Lunday was more vocal reinforcement of the Coast Guard’s ongoing mission…
Operation ‘Fouled Anchor’ anyone? Participating in a Sexual Harassment coverup will end anyone’s career, and abruptly.
Even Wikipedia mentioned she withheld requested documents from U.S. Congress investigators. In the private sector you’ll be marched out the front door by Corporate Security with no ‘golden parachute’ or severance package. (I’ve seen it happen personally)
She’s lucky to have a pension.
One “Aw shuck’s” destroys all of your atta-boys my Senior Chief told me at Station Hatteras Inlet almost four decades ago, and ain’t it true !!!
She was low hanging fruit, and it’s apparently been a year plus in the making. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (Johnson (R) and Blumenthal (D)) swore to hold her accountable for Fouled Anchor, the failure to report results of the USCGs investigation, and failure to supply unredacted records.
Now add together a supposed “excessive focus on DEI” in the new political climate, bipartisan unhappiness with her, and she’s toast…everything else is just blah, blah, blah.
I have to challenge the suggestion that two and a half years isn’t a long enough time to be judged. The icebreaker situation is a fiasco (as an example), and hasn’t really changed at all under her leadership, despite it being a critical need.
We won a World War in four years and our expectations across the DoD and govt agencies need to get a hell of a lot higher if we are to have any chance against China in 2027, or even to control our own Arctic region. The time to get this derivative-design icebreaker through development and production is going to be longer than NASA took to get to the Moon from scratch. That’s not remotely acceptable, especially for a derivative design!!!
But in fairness, CNO should have been canned LONG ago, well before Fagan, if nothing else but LCS and the inability to keep ships from being covered in rust (kudos to USCG for doing a great job on white hulls). But in an administration that wouldnt even fire someone (ANYONE?!?!) for the Afghan withdrawal fiasco that cost 13 American lives and possibly thousands of our Afghan translator allies who were left behind to be murdered by the Taliban, we all know that was never going to happen.
Part of the problem was that while the PSC was supposed to be a derivative design, it really was not. The ship it was supposed to be based on never got past the preliminary design stage.
They have at least started cutting steel for the first PSC.
Not sure why this posted twice? Feel free to delete one of them.
My apologies if it was me fat fingering something.
A lot of mixed emotions on this one across all paygrades.
The recent rise in SA whistle blowers, the D8 “McGee Email”, and the handling of Operation Fouled Anchor have soured a lot of opinions on Admiral Fagan’s term as Commandant. Its a painful topic but as a prior SA Victim Advocate I can’t help but see HQ’s tepid acknowledgement of these issues as a non-response.
The Suicide Stand-down was not universally well received either.
At the enlisted and JO levels there is a general feeling of resentment towards senior leadership. Its not out in the open but the quiet frustration is there. I think its driven by a sense that deck plate feedback is going right into the shredder. “We hear you and are taking your feedback into consideration” is being translated to “We’re listening because we have to, don’t actually care.”
All of that said, I don’t think its fair to saddle her with Mayorkas’s utter failure at every turn. As someone pointed out earlier, halfway into a Commandant’s tenure isn’t really enough time to judge them on all performance metrics.
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Since the Navy is my focus, I’ve been paying more attention to the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Lisa Franchetti, and I always got the impression she agreed more with Trump than Biden. For example, she has generally avoided DEI-related topics in her public statements, and when she’s pushed to talk about it the wording tends to be very weak, suggesting she’s following orders she disagrees with. If my read on the situation is accurate, she might wind up being one of the few senior officers that survives the next few months and could even be the next chairman.
As for Admiral Fagan, it’s possible she was refusing to follow orders. I haven’t done the research necessary to say anything for sure, but I have heard claims that parts of the DOD are refusing to comply with Trump’s executive order abolishing DEI. I’m not a lawyer, but I’m fairly sure that qualifies as failure to obey a legal order under article 92 of the UCMJ. If Admiral Fagan did refuse to follow orders, the alternative to dismissal would be a court martial so this could very well be the best outcome for her. That said, I obviously have no evidence for this so it shouldn’t be taken as anything more than speculation, but I thought the possibility was worth mentioning.
Court martials for Admirals and Generals over DEI? Utterly absurd. But consistent with the times I suppose.
The Coast Guard has been relieving COs and Unit Commanders for decades with little reason given other than “lost of confidence.” Many if not most were likely deserved but some were quite questionable. Command is an at-will position that one assumes at thier own risk. You can be fired at any time for good reason, bad reason or no reason at all. At least ADM Fagan wasn’t fired with at tweet. Job offers wer probably blowing up her cell phone within seconds of the announcement.