THE WATCH STAFF
The United States Senate unanimously approved Adm. Linda Fagan to be the next commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG).
The Senate’s approval May 11, 2022, made Fagan — a self-professed “former icebreaker Sailor” — the first woman to lead a U.S. military branch and comes at a crucial time for the USCG as it modernizes its fleet and boosts its presence in the Arctic, where commercial activity and strategic competition are increasing.
“Adm. Fagan’s leadership, experience and integrity are second to none, and I know she will advance the Coast Guard’s mission to ensure our nation’s maritime safety and security,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a May 12, 2022, White House statement.
Fagan, 58, is scheduled to take the helm June 1 in a ceremony at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She succeeds the retiring Adm. Karl Schultz. Fagan has served as vice commandant since June 2021, when she became the first female USCG four-star admiral. She was the third woman to serve as vice commandant.
(Pictured: Linda Fagan is promoted to the rank of admiral during a ceremony at Coast Guard Headquarters on June 18, 2021.)
Fagan said during her Senate confirmation hearing that her priority will be to change how the USCG “recruits, trains and retains” its service members.
“My goal is the best talent we can recruit,” said Fagan, whose two daughters include a USCG officer, according to a May 12, 2022, Military.com story. “It’s what makes us great as a service and an organization, and [I] will continue to focus on making sure that talent, to the best extent possible, reflects the diversity that we carry in.”
Then there is the Arctic challenge, which Fagan discussed in an April 7, 2022, interview with the Federal News Network (FNN).
“I’ve been in uniform now, over 37 years; my first assignment was on the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star [heavy icebreaker],” Fagan said. “So, I’ve had an opportunity firsthand to visit the Arctic on a ship. I have also been to Antarctica. And I would say change is afoot in the Arctic. And the pace of change continues to accelerate. There’s considerably more water and less ice. And with that a lot of just changing patterns of behavior, increase opportunities for people to access the Arctic, whether it’s cruise ships, or some of the desire for resource extraction up there.”
Fagan said the service’s ongoing modernization efforts — for its vessels, aircraft and infrastructure — are key to both Arctic operations and its overall mission.
“The Russians have been investing heavily in their side of the Arctic. But it is important to note, we, too, are an Arctic nation,” Fagan told FNN. “Alaska is our Arctic presence. And so … this is why the polar security cutters are going to be so pivotal. They will allow us to create a more enduring on-the-water presence in the Arctic, so that we can enforce our own national sovereignty and our own interest in our EEZ [exclusive economic zone].”
The polar security cutter (PSC) is a heavy icebreaker. Three PSCs are being built, with the first expected to be delivered in 2025.
Before her appointment as vice commandant, Fagan led the Coast Guard Pacific Area. The 1985 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy also served as deputy director of operations for headquarters at U.S. Northern Command. Fagan is also the USCG’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, an award created in 2016 and given to the active-duty officer with the longest service in the marine safety field, according to a May 11, 2022, Politico story.
IMAGE CREDIT: LT. J.G. PAMELA MANNS/U.S. COAST GUARD