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INTERVIEW ADMIRAL KARL SCHULTZ, COMMANDANT, UNITED STATES COAST GUARD 10% purchasing power over an eight-year period,” a budget cyber hacks. “We are the sector risk management agency for dent which left many fences to mend. During his tenure, be- the maritime industry,” said Admiral Schultz. “95% of the tween 2018 and 2022, “we’ve actually grown our ONS bud- goods we consume in this country enter through the maritime get, it looks like 23% with this recent budget here. So that is a ports and waterways. “That’s a big deal. Plus we’re a dot mil key enabler to being a more ready Coast Guard.” organization so we ride on the DoD information network. We “I think this 23% of ONS uptick over the last few budget have to be compliant, and you have to make investments to cycles really starts to signal that the readiness scenario has stay compliant.” So that’s tens of thousands of vessels coming been heard,” but that’s sort of the down payment, said Ad- in, through 360 ports, via 25,000 miles of waterways. “We’ve miral Schultz. “My narrative has been 3 to 5% predictable got to make sure the Marine Transportation System and its

ONS budget growth going forward so we can be that Coast $5.4 trillion of annual activity is ef? cient and safe.”

Guard the nation needs. We have a lot of backlog (spending on) infrastructure, and the good news is we’re starting to bite Turning the Page into that.” While Admiral Shultz draws closer to the end of his tenure,

One area of particular concern has been the technology legacy is not on his mind. “I’m not a guy that thinks about backbone and IT infrastructure by which the Coast Guard op- legacy, but I hope that the people in the Coast Guard would erate. “We kicked off the tech revolution during my tenure, feel like they were priority number one. Overall, I would say right around 2019 we started to talk about our aging backbone we are an increasingly more ready Coast Guard because of the for all our C5IR computer systems, all of our enabling func- past four years’ efforts. We came in with a readiness conver- tionalities. Congress is now asking us, ‘What’s that next chunk sation to be the Coast Guard that can roll into whatever the of funds you need for the tech revolution?’ So we’ve turned threat, whether it’s disasters, whether it be the agile roll up to that conversation around, and we now have a plan to recapi- help our allies. We have been agile, we have been adaptive, talize our technical information on a battle rhythm like they and I think we’ve been increasingly relevant. [No matter what do outside the military service,” said Admiral Schulz. “So we was thrown at us], I think we stood the watch, and I’m most were just piecing things together, gum and baling wire. And proud of our resilience and our increased readiness to be the now we’re treating tech like an acquisition program. We got Coast Guard the nation needs.” about $120 million of CARES Act funding that enabled us to Personally, Admiral Schultz is looking forward to spending get a lot more mobility. We got some new computers, the abil- more time focused on his family. “What’s next for me is we’re ity to work virtually.” going to sprint through June 1, and then I told my family I’ll

Ultimately, the ‘tech piece’ is multi-faceted: it’s about at- take four to six months to step back. I’ve got ? ve kids, there tracting and retaining young, capable professionals that see is work in my future.” the Coast Guard as a viable career; it’s about increasing ef- “I like to work, but I don’t know if there’s work that ever ? ciencies across the organization, including helping to speed will feel as a part of me as being in the Coast Guard, but I hope the process of ship inspection; and perhaps most importantly, to ? nd something that’s value-oriented. The Schultz’s are pret- it’s a point of national security and helping to protect the por- ty modest folks, so it’s not about making a lot of money, it’s tion of the economy that is directly connected to the water- about making a difference; but probably not on this level of ways, ports and harbors, a sector increasingly threatened by demand and commitment that every day.” www.marinelink.com 33

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