Adm. Linda Fagan, who in 2022 became the first woman to lead a branch of the U.S. military, was relieved of her duties as commandant by Benjamine Huffman, President Donald Trump’s interim homeland security secretary. Huffman’s message did not provide a reason for the decision.
“She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation,” it said.
Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, who had been the service’s No. 2 officer, was named acting Coast Guard commandant, Huffman’s message to the force said. Lunday became the service’s vice commandant in June after previously leading Coast Guard personnel on the East Coast.
Coast Guard officials referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the service. An official with DHS said in a written response to questions that Fagan was “terminated because of her leadership deficiencies, operational failures, and inability to advance the strategic objectives of the U.S. Coast Guard.”
The statement blamed Fagan for “ineffective deployment of Coast Guard assets to support national border security, especially in interdicting fentanyl and other illicit substances”; insufficient coordination with DHS to prioritize operations along maritime borders; inadequate leadership in recruiting; mismanagement in acquiring icebreaker ships, helicopters and other essential equipment; “excessive focus” on “non-mission-critical” diversity efforts; and an “erosion of trust” due to her alleged mishandling of Operation Fouled Anchor, an investigation in which service officials scrutinized numerous allegations of sexual assault and did not disclose them publicly.
The statement left out context in several of its allegations. Among them, while the Coast Guard struggled for years to recruit and retain personnel, it made its recruiting goals in 2024 after Fagan bolstered the number of recruiters and recruiting stations.
I suspect felon34 relieved #AdmLindaFagan of her post as the US Coast Guard's top Admiral because he perceived her to be a DEI hire.
#USCoastGuard #DonaldTrump
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Excerpted fr/ WaPo:
