The U.S. Coast Guard is taking steps to address sexual assault in the ranks but continues to fall short in implementing its plans and reporting to Congress — shortcomings that hamper the “long-term cultural and procedural changes” needed to address the problem, a federal watchdog has warned.
The Government Accountability Office released a two-page brief Friday criticizing the service for failing to provide timely updates to Congress on sexual assaults as well as some information that is required by law.
The watchdog also said the service has not developed a performance plan to assess its progress in addressing sexual misconduct, an oversight GAO analysts noted they pointed out two years ago.
“Addressing sexual misconduct in the Coast Guard requires a cultural transformation,” the analysts wrote. “But gaps in leadership, monitoring, and employee engagement have hindered progress.”
The GAO released its report the day after the Coast Guard announced its Sexual Assault Prevention, Response and Recovery Action Plan to prevent and address sexual assault in the service.
The action plan outlines 17 steps the service will take to implement a strategic plan it released in March.
“Leaders at every level, myself included, are responsible and accountable for combating sexual assault,” Commandant Adm. Kevin Lunday wrote in the foreword to the plan. “That starts with discipline — setting and upholding the highest standards across the Service.”
Systemic issues of sexual assault in the Coast Guard came to light in 2023 as the result of reporting by CNN that found the service had conducted a widespread investigation into sexual assaults at the Coast Guard Academy beginning in 2014 but failed to assist victims, prosecute alleged perpetrators or reveal the existence of the problems or the investigation.
“Operation Fouled Anchor,” as the investigation was known, substantiated 60 cases of rape, assault and sexual harassment at the academy in New London, Connecticut, from 1988 through 2006.
Following CNN’s reporting on the investigation, then-Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan announced a review of service policies, culture and practices. The review found that the service’s handling of sexual assault cases undermined trust in leadership, but efforts to address the issue did not lead to substantial changes.
The Accountability and Transparency Review conducted under Fagan’s watch made 33 recommendations, but by March 2024, the Coast Guard implemented just five.
A GAO report in January recommended the Coast Guard develop an implementation plan for its reforms as well as reconstitute its implementation team and establish two-way communications with members and civilians on their status.
The Coast Guard’s action plan released Thursday meets the recommendation to develop an implementation plan.
The 17 steps in the plan fall under four categories: prevention, response, recovery and accountability. The plan spells out specific objectives that commands will complete by the first quarter of fiscal 2028 to prevent assault, support victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
Those steps include improving training, updating response protocols including medical response, reinforcing training on reporting, developing prosecution measures and improving timelines for separation and addressing retaliation through training and tracking.
“Through clear actions, outcomes, and end states, the SAPRR Action Plan will achieve the following vision: every sexual assault stopped before it occurs, every member treated with dignity and respect, every victim and survivor met with expert care, and every offender held accountable under the law,” service officials said in a statement accompanying the plan’s release.
Lunday said it was a “sacred duty” of Coast Guard members to take care of each other.
“Every Coast Guard man and woman — active duty, reserve, civilian, and Auxiliary — has a duty to take action to prevent and respond to sexual assault,” Lunday said in a statement. “Every one of us will act with the same courage and bias for action expected of us in rescuing someone in peril at sea.”
Patricia Kime is a senior writer covering military and veterans health care, medicine and personnel issues.