Coast Guard is resisting oversight of mishandled sexual misconduct cases, lawmakers say

The U.S. Coast Guard said it is “committed to transparency and accountability with Congress, our workforce and the public” after lawmakers in recent weeks have criticized the military service for not fully complying with investigations into its handling of sexual misconduct incidents. 

“We appreciate the work of Congress to provide oversight related to Operation Fouled Anchor and to highlight reforms needed to address sexual assault and harassment. The Coast Guard is keenly aware of and is aggressively responding to the unacceptable activities underpinning the report — namely sexual assault and sexual harassment,” a USCG spokesperson said in a statement to Government Executive. “We are fully cooperating with the investigation by the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General, and as requested, we will assess the results of the inquiry and take appropriate action when completed.”

That stands in stark contrast to what House and Senate committees reported in December. 

“The delays, limited disclosures and begrudging cooperation on the part of DHS and USCG, in addition to the initial lack of transparency being investigated by the committee, have likely limited the ability of Congress to conduct oversight and impose meaningful legislative reforms on issues like prevention of sexual assault and misconduct,” wrote House Oversight and Accountability Committee majority investigators in a Dec. 12 interim update on their investigation.  

The congressional inquiries were prompted by a 2023 CNN report that revealed the USCG in 2014 launched an investigation called Operation Fouled Anchor into possible sexual assaults at the military service’s academy from the late 1980s to 2006. That investigation, which it kept secret from Congress, “found that school leaders routinely failed to report serious allegations to law enforcement, intentionally avoiding the criminal justice system.” The review concluded in 2020 and examined a total of 102 sexual assault allegations. 

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs panel’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations released a bipartisan interim report on Dec. 20 concerning its review of Operation Fouled Anchor. So far, the investigation has reviewed more than 18,000 pages of documents, interviewed 15 former USCG personnel and heard from whistleblowers, most of whom are USCG sexual misconduct survivors. 

It found that former USCG Commandant Karl Schultz in fall 2018 decided not to publicly disclose Operation Fouled Anchor’s existence based on recommendations from other senior officials. For example, a 2018 memo from the USCG Office of Governmental and Public Affairs argued against proactively notifying Congress, saying doing so would “risk the initiation of comprehensive congressional investigations, hearings and media interest.” 

Schultz told CNN on Dec. 13 that he wasn’t trying to cover up Operation Fouled Anchor but rather was concerned that lawmakers wouldn’t protect victims’ privacy. 

“I made my decision, and I stand by that,” Schultz said. “There are people who feel wronged by that, and I truly in my heart feel terrible about that. But I don’t think that changes my calculus.”

Senate investigators also discovered a 2019 email that “suggests the Coast Guard took affirmative steps to remove references to Operation Fouled Anchor” when responding to a records request from Congress about a different matter. 

They also accused the USCG of “repeatedly fail[ing]” to comply with their investigation. 

“The Coast Guard has refused to produce responsive documents, aggressively redacted documents that it has produced, erroneously claimed privilege over responsive documents and limited the subcommittee’s access to key documents,” investigators wrote. “The Coast Guard’s obstruction of the subcommittee’s oversight efforts is unacceptable.”

Likewise, the House Oversight panel’s Operation Fouled Anchor investigation has involved interviews with former USCG senior leaders and more than 20 whistleblowers. That interim report accused USCG of only providing approximately 12,000 pages of documents out of 1.8 million pages of potentially relevant material. 

“Withholding critical information has not only hindered the investigation, but also suggests a broader and continued effort to avoid accountability, putting service members at risk,” House investigators wrote. 

Their findings largely mirror those from the Senate version; however, the House report also determined that the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, which is one entity that can receive victim reports of sexual assault, “was not a properly functioning law enforcement agency and lacked sufficient resources to conduct thorough investigations during the period investigated by Operation Fouled Anchor.” 

Following the publicization of Operation Fouled Anchor, USCG Commandant Linda Fagan ordered a review that prompted 33 actions to improve USCG’s culture. A little more than half have been implemented, including a safe to report policy that protects victims and eyewitnesses who report sexual misconduct from being punished for minor collateral misconduct.  

Representatives for House Oversight and Accountability Committee Republicans and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the Investigations Subcommittee, did not respond to requests for comment regarding when their respective investigations would end and any plans for a legislative response.