Page 43: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2024)

steps to implement the recommendations, such as stating Guard was required to obtain and report. Careful monitoring that it will begin to require shipbuilding programs to com- of migrant interdiction data is all the more important given plete the functional design of major systems before starting recent trends: in both ? scal years 2022 and 2023, the Coast lead ship construction. Guard interdicted twice as many migrants as in ? scal year

In addition, GAO has reported for decades that the opera- 2021. GAO recommended that the Coast Guard follow its sys- tional capacity of the Coast Guard’s legacy vessel ? eet has tem development processes in order to analyze and select an been declining. In July 2012, GAO reported that Medium alternative data system. The Coast Guard agreed and is taking

Endurance Cutters—a key asset for law enforcement mis- steps to replace MISLE. sions that the Offshore Patrol Cutter is to replace—did not In July 2022, GAO reported on various aspects of the Coast meet operational hours targets from ? scal years 2005 through Guard’s IT program and found that the service implemented 2011 and that declining operational capacity hindered mis- two processes intended to ensure that its IT infrastructure re- sion performance. Further, since 2013, the Coast Guard has sources meet the service’s mission needs. However, the ser- acknowledged that its two operational icebreakers—the Po- vice did not have a comprehensive process for network ca- lar Star and Healy—are insuf? cient to meet its multifaceted pacity planning—a key process in IT infrastructure planning mission needs in the polar regions, which include preventing that involves assessing and determining the network resource illegal ? shing. needs required to effectively support an entity’s mission. As a result, GAO recommended that the Coast Guard develop and

Workforce implement network capacity planning policies based on lead-

The Coast Guard’s staf? ng shortfalls routinely affect the ing practices in order to better plan for its mission needs. The service’s ability to meet daily mission needs and workforce Coast Guard agreed with GAO’s recommendations is taking analyses are urgently needed to address the problem. In sev- actions to address them.

eral reports spanning 2010 to 2022, GAO found that the Coast The Coast Guard has acknowledged that operating in the dy-

Guard had not adequately determined its workforce needs. namic security and maritime domains will become more com-

One study found that from 2003 through 2019, the Coast plicated as it acquires upgraded information systems as well

Guard had completed workforce requirements analyses— as technologically advanced aircraft and vessels. In addition, which are structured analyses that determine the number and workforce growth and enhanced skills will be required to op- types of personnel needed to effectively perform each mission erate and maintain updated assets. Expeditiously addressing to a speci? ed standard—for only 28 percent of its workforce. GAO’s recommendations on managing its assets, workforce,

As a result, GAO recommended that the Coast Guard update and technology will help ensure that the service ef? ciently its plan for completing such analyses to include timeframes uses its available resources to carry out its missions.

and milestones.

One example of a workforce challenge centered on the

Coast Guard’s Deployable Specialized Forces—multiple units with a range of capabilities needed to handle drug and migrant interdiction, terrorism, and other threats in the U.S. maritime environment. In November 2019, GAO reported that the Coast Guard could bene? t from assessing Deploy- able Specialized Forces’ workforce needs Conducting this analysis would better position the Coast Guard to identify capability gaps between mission requirements and mission performance caused by de? ciencies in the numbers of per- sonnel available.

The Author

Technology

MacLeod

The Coast Guard has experienced long-standing issues with

Heather MacLeod is a Director in GAO’s managing its technology resources, such as a data system that

Homeland Security and Justice team. does not capture key mission information. In July 2020, GAO

She oversees Coast Guard and maritime reported on challenges with MISLE, a system that tracks data security issues, including Coast Guard workforce and strategic planning efforts, for most Coast Guard missions. The GAO report found gaps and maritime port and supply chain/ in MISLE’s capabilities—for example, the system did not cargo security.

systematically capture migrant interdiction data that the Coast www.marinelink.com 43

MR #1 (34-44).indd 43 1/8/2024 9:46:22 AM