Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Congressmen Eli Crane (AZ-02) and Matt Gaetz (FL-01) issued a letter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Commandant Linda Fagan demanding answers over USCG’s prioritization of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the impact it is having on staffing and operational readiness. The letter is in direct response to the USCG’s decision to temporarily decommission numerous ships.

USCG has reported that it is about 4,800 members short and has missed its recruiting targets for the past four fiscal years, leading to the decommissioning and shorter lifecycle of USCG ships and increased burden on USCG members. At the same time, the USCG is carrying out indoctrination training, including Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) inclusivity training, which service members believe to be extraneous to mission-critical tasks. Accordingly, the letter requests specific information be provided, no later than October 1st, 2024, to Reps. Gaetz and Crane on how the SOGI training assists in improving manning issues and the plan to meet recruiting goals and recommission ships.

Full text of Congressmen Crane and Gaetz’s letter to Secretary Mayorkas and Commandant Fagan can be found HERE. Additionally, exclusive coverage of the letter by Daily Signal can be found HERE.

LETTER TEXT

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.

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. 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. 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. 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.

Sincerely,

Eli Crane
Member of Congress

Matt Gaetz
Member of Congress

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