Below is a post from MyCG. It’s probably important. I have been away from the Puzzle Palace so long I really don’t know how much of a change this is, so comments are welcome.
I do find the phase “…the nation’s finest fighting force” a bit over the top. I am sure the Marines would question this. The Coast Guard may provide the best return on investment in the Federal government, but it is not because of our prowess as a fighting force. I welcome the recent reemphasis on the Coast Guard’s role as an armed naval force, but this is unrealistic. If we want to be taken seriously as an armed force, we need to be a lot more specific about what the Coast Guard needs and what the service can and will be able to do.
The Coast Guard needs a frank and honest exchange with Navy and JCS. We need a mobilization plan. There may be one in a vault somewhere but unless we test, practice, and train for the missions, it is useless. There are opportunities for synergy with the Navy Reserve where they can reinforce CG units to provide expertise and even equipment the Coast Guard lacks.
Hopefully, we will see what Elvis asked for, “A little less conversation, a little more action, please.”
June 25, 2025
USCG HQ is reorganizing to better serve the nation’s finest fighting force, By Christie St. Clair, MyCG Staff
As part of Force Design 2028, we’re reorganizing Coast Guard headquarters to support you and ensure your unit’s mission success.
Effective July 1, we will establish a Chief of Staff to help headquarters work more effectively. And we’ll restructure Mission Support into two new directorates: a Deputy Commandant for Personnel (DCP) and a Deputy Commandant for Systems (DCS).
Chief of Staff (CoS)
The new Coast Guard Chief of Staff will improve coordination across headquarters, streamline decision-making, foster a culture of accountability and agility, and ensure headquarters focuses on big-picture strategy rather than individual operational decisions. The Assistant Commandant for Resources (CG-8), Director of Governmental and Public Affairs (CG-092), and Force Design 28 Implementation Team will report to the CoS.
Deputy Commandant for Personnel (DCP)
DCP will recruit, access, and provide training, professional development, and career opportunities for military members, civilians, and auxiliarists. We will also provide our military members and families the housing, childcare, and medical care they deserve.
DCP will include:
- Assistant Commandant for Total Workforce Management (CG-TWM) will unite both military and civilian personnel management and add a Civilian Personnel Management (CPM) division under the Personnel Service Center (PSC).
- Assistant Commandant for Workforce and Family Services (CG-WFS) will focus on programs that support your well-being and family life, including Anti-Hate and Harassment, Wellness, and Support Services. A new Workforce and Family Services Center (WFCS) will execute the activities associated with these programs.
- Force Readiness Command (CG-FC) will combine recruiting, training, and leadership development activities to provide a more seamless experience throughout your career.
- Office of the Chief Medical Officer (CG-CMO) will focus on medical policy and healthcare delivery.
Deputy Commandant for Systems (DCS)
DCS will get and maintain better equipment and technology, at the speed our 24/7 global operations demand, and ensure it is ready for you to conduct critical missions. We will cancel programs that fall short of expectation and build capabilities that maximize your unit’s operational impact.
Separate Program Executive Offices (PEOs) will manage our assets through the full acquisition to sustainment lifecycle to ensure we have the right assets, in the right place, at the right time.
DCS will include:
- PEO – Surface will manage surface vessel acquisition and maintenance and oversee Surface Acquisitions Logistics Center (SALC), Project Resident Offices (PROs), and the Surface Forces Logistics Center (SFLC).
- PEO – Air will manage aviation acquisition and maintenance and oversee Aviation Logistics Center (ALC) and the Aviation Projects Acquisition Center (APAC).
- PEO – C5I will manage command, control, communications, computers, and information technology systems and the functions of the Chief Information Officer and oversee the C5I Service Center (C5ISC).
- PEO – Shore will manage shore infrastructure and facilities and oversee the Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center (SILC) and the Facilities Design and Construction Center (FDCC).
- PEO – Robotics and Autonomous Systems (RAS) will manage the integration of robotics and unmanned systems into each of our 11 statutory missions.
- Director of Integration and Chief Acquisitions Office (CG-SI) will unify, oversee, and synchronize all Coast Guard acquisitions.
- Director of Contracting and Procurement/Head of Contracting Activity (CG-HCA)will provide Coast Guard leaders strategy, counsel, and visibility of contracting and procurement activities, and will embed contracting offices in each PEO to increase effectiveness.
Why are we doing this?
These are just the first steps toward making the Coast Guard more efficient and effective. Force Design is the service’s biggest overhaul since World War 2, and will ensure the Coast Guard continues its legacy as the nation’s finest military service – both now and long into the future.
Learn more at USCG Force Design 2028.
-USCG-
Resources:
- USCG Force Design 2028
- DCS Transition Information is available to support members of the workforce transitioning under the reorganization.
In the News:
Chuck Hill's CG Blog 
Looks like more not less layers of HQ management disguised as rebranding. As many of us have witnessed, REORG doesn’t always result in a better/improved enterprise; in fact it can often just be a reshuffling and renaming of what is there. Why not replace that word and conceptual thinking with a STREAMLINE mindset – which by definition of “to alter in order to make more efficient” – might be a better way to proceed. Whether or not this latest action results in better “efficiency and effectively” will have to be proven valid in terms of how its decisions affect the fleet and that should always be calibrated toward excellence.
“We trained hard-but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form into teams, we would be reorganized. I was to learn later in life that we tend to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and what a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.” —Petronius Arbiter
Just learned that the quote is really from the magazine article “Merrill’s Marauders” (Harper’s Magazine, 1957) by Charlton Ogburn. In full, it reads,
We trained hard, but it seemed that every time we were beginning to form up into teams we would be reorganized. Presumably the plans for our employment were being changed. I was to learn later in life that, perhaps because we are so good at organizing, we tend as a nation to meet any new situation by reorganizing; and a wonderful method it can be for creating the illusion of progress while producing confusion, inefficiency and demoralization.
We’ll see how this goes. Having been in Naval Engineering during the creation of the MLC’s and then again during the conversion to SFLC I’m a little jaundiced to another “biggest overhaul since World War 2”. The biggest change would be to permanently increase the AC&I budgets so we aren’t in a continual stream of replacing 30 year designed fleets that end up operating into 50 and 60 years (327’s, 210s, etc…..).
Not sure adopting the Navy’s organization is really a good idea. PEOs have worked so well for them.
I am afraid what we are seeing is the cancellation of existing programs and the formulation of grand plans that will involve greater spending in the out years but that will actually reduce spending in the near term which will be planning phase.
The proof will be in what happens to the OPC program. If Austal delivers and options continue to be exercised, while an alternative cutter is designed, we will probably be OK in the long run, though we will see a serious dip in capability before we recover.
I really fear Force Design 2028 will decide we really don’t need so many large cutters.
It’s a questionable decision unless the plan is to move the Coast Guard out of Homeland Security.
I’ve seen no indication of that. The Secretary seems to be very proprietary about the service.