Failure by the U.S. Coast Guard to investigate and prosecute incidents of sexual assault and harassment extend beyond a scandal at the school's service academy, a systemic problem that continues to harm personnel across all ranks, a U.S. Senate investigation has found.
Interviews by the Homeland Security Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations with more than 80 victims and others found "ongoing failures" by the Coast Guard to address cases of rape, assault and harassment across the service. A report released Wednesday by the panel said the Coast Guard cultivated a culture of "silencing, retaliation, and failed accountability."
"The voices of these whistleblowers make clear that sexual assault and sexual harassment in the Coast Guard are fleet-wide problems, impacting enlisted members and officers just as pervasively as [Coast Guard Academy] cadets," wrote Subcommittee Chairman Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., in the report, "A Pervasive Problem: Voices of Coast Guard Sexual Assault and Harassment Survivors."
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During a Senate field hearing Thursday in New London, Connecticut, five active and former Coast Guard members discussed their experiences as victims of sexual assault or harassment in the service, describing incidents that occurred as recently as 2022.
One witness described being gang-raped on a Coast Guard cutter in 2004. Twenty years later, when he felt emboldened to come forward, he said a circumstance allowed his assailant to retire honorably while he himself was investigated for an alleged hazing incident that occurred on the ship around the same time of his assault.
"It was obvious that [leadership's] intent was to implicate me in something that would discredit my name and my story. With each step, it became clear that our systems were broken," said retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Julian Bell during the hearing, held at Connecticut College, just up the road from the Coast Guard Academy.
The Coast Guard has been grappling with a scandal that broke last year when CNN reported that the service had failed to disclose the results of an investigation, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, into incidents of rape, sexual assault and harassment at the Coast Guard Academy across nearly two decades.
As part of Fouled Anchor, the Coast Guard Investigative Service looked into 102 reports of rape, sexual assault and harassment at the academy between 1990 and 2006 and determined that there were 63 potential victims and 43 alleged perpetrators, according to the Senate report.
A final Operation Fouled Anchor report, published in January 2020 but never disclosed to members of Congress or the public, determined that only five cases were referred for investigation when they were reported, even though academy officials were aware of at least 30 allegations of sexual assault or harassment.
The fallout from the service's failure to acknowledge problems at the academy as well as its suppression of Operation Fouled Anchor continues. The Senate subcommittee launched its investigation as a result of the cover-up, and the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General initiated its own inquiry into the scandal.
Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan also apologized last year and initiated a review of Coast Guard policies and procedures, but critics say little has been done to hold perpetrators or those who quashed investigations and reports accountable.
During the hearing Thursday, retired Chief Warrant Officer 4 Shawna Ward said the service, through lack of action, "condones this culture."
"There are unspoken rules among groups of officers and enlisted that look out after their own at all cost, admirals who look out for themselves and do not step out of line ... captains ... the chiefs' mess," Ward said.
During a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee on July 24, Fagan said she was waiting for the results of the inspector general investigation to determine further actions.
She added that the service has tools it can use, to include bringing retired service members back into the Coast Guard to discipline them if a crime or misconduct has taken place.
"When it's reported and it comes to light and we investigate it, we will move to ensure accountability, and that means in some cases removal from service; other cases, reduction in grade," Fagan said.
The Senate panel expanded its review beyond the mishandling of Operation Fouled Anchor after hearing from dozens of active and former Coasties who said they'd experienced sexual assault and harassment beyond the academy.
The 49-page report found a number of common threads in the stories of those who came forward, including ostracization by leaders and units; discounting of their cases; investigations into collateral misconduct, such as looking into a victim's underage drinking or other behavioral infractions; investigations that retraumatized victims; retaliation or ruination of victims' careers; inadequate medical care and services for victims; and active discouragement by leaders in reporting crimes.
Blumenthal said he called the hearing Thursday to "elevate statements from those individuals who bravely came forward to share their experiences with this subcommittee."
"The experiences relayed in this report underscore what this investigation has already made abundantly clear, the problem of sexual assault and harassment in the Coast Guard is still far too pervasive,” Blumenthal said. “It is persistent and ongoing, and it affects officers and enlisted in present service.”
The Coast Guard has taken several steps to improve the reporting process for sexual assaults, including instituting a policy that requires commanders to disregard certain misconduct such as fraternization or underage drinking by victims or witnesses to encourage them to come forward.
It also has changed its separation policy so that a member found to have committed a crime of sexual assault or harassment automatically would be processed for separation and receive no higher than a general discharge.
The Coast Guard also has completed 18 of 33 actions it determined were necessary to change its culture under Fagan's review, according to the service.
Following the hearing, the Coast Guard issued a statement thanking the panel for "lifting up voices of survivors" and for the oversight it is providing the service.
"Today, we heard heartbreaking testimony from victims and survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment. The Coast Guard commends the courage of those who testified and their desire to make the Coast Guard better. Their experiences are helping us to shape policies and actions to prevent sexual misconduct and ensure effective victim support and accountability," Coast Guard officials said in a statement.
