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Mission Support Moving Forward An inside look at what is ahead for Mission Support.

Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Workforce

Recruit and Retain an Inclusive and Diverse Workforce that Reflects the American Public We Serve

Sponsored by the Coast Guard’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Diversity and Inclusion Education and Awareness Program (DIEAP) developed Change Agents who provide diversity and inclusion training, coaching, and support to unit leaders and LDACs and, most critically, coach Commanding Officers and Officers in Charge through difficult workplace climate concerns. Change Agents are also equipped with knowledge and skills to build common ground for meaningful dialogue about civility, equity, diversity, inclusion and cross-cultural relationship building. By summer’s end, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion will have trained more than 125 Change Agents.

Building an Officer Recruiting Corps

Strengthen Our Ready and Responsive Reserve and Auxiliary Forces

As noted by the Commandant during the SOTCGA, intentionally cultivating a diverse workforce that is reflective of our nation is a key priority of the Coast Guard. To ensure the continuation of a diverse Coast Guard, Mission Support established a new component of the Coast Guard Recruiting Command -- the Officer Recruiting Corps. The Corps serves all non-Academy officer programs including Officer Candidate School and Direct Commission Officer Programs with a focus on supporting the College Student Pre-Commission Initiative (CSPI) at minority-serving institutions.

What's Next?

Mission Support will invest heavily in maximizing readiness today and tomorrow by cultivating a Mission Ready Total Workforce. Mission Support will actively laying the groundwork to Recruit, Train, Support, Retain, and Transition the finest talent for an inclusive workforce – Civilian, Active, Reserve, and Auxiliary – that will best position the Coast Guard over the next decade. By linking Mission Support recruitment, training, support, retention and transition initiatives together, Mission Support will establish itself as an employer of choice in the eyes of current and potential members.

Revolutionizing Technology

Strengthen Reliability of Command, and Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Intelligence (C5I) Enterprise Systems

C5I is as vital to mission execution as our cutters, boats, and aircraft. Last year, the Commandant initiated a Tech Revolution; a whole-of-service effort to ensure our dedicated people are supported by an information system that is reliable, mobile, and integrated. The Tech Revolution Road Map highlights five lines of effort. The Service has made progress in each area and laid out additional actions going forward.

Energizing the Polar Security Cutter Program

Maintain Momentum on Current Acquisition Efforts

As human activity and international interest in the polar Regions expand, the Coast Guard must be ready to protect U.S. national security, environmental and economic interests through capable, multi-mission Coast Guard cutters that can access the Polar Regions throughout the year. To do so, CG-9 recapitalized the Coast Guard’s heavy polar icebreaking fleet in the form of the Polar Security Cutter (PSC). The Coast Guard plans to build a fleet of at least six new polar icebreakers and is building the first Polar Security Cutter (PSC) now. The PSC is the first heavy polar icebreaker built in the U.S. in more than 40 years. The Coast Guard's lone heavy icebreaker, Polar Star, was commissioned in 1976. The Coast Guard received full funding to support award of PSC 2 construction in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.

Launching Telehealth

Provide Simplified and Consistent Customer Access to Mission Support

Championed by the Coast Guard’s Health Systems Administration Team, the Coast Guard launched virtual medical appointments to support members and health care providers. The new, web-based telehealth system called Coast Guard Care Anywhere (CGCA) provides members with access to health services from personal computers, tablets, or smart phones. “Our goal is to provide an immediate solution to respond to COVID-19,” said Lt. Cmdr. Leslie Clark, Chief of Health Systems Administration and responsible for deploying CGCA. Web-based telehealth provides a slight advantage over traditional phone calls, as the software allows health care providers and members to see one another’s body language. “The goal of CGCA was to make sure we could have 200 doctors running at the same time, being able to see up to 2,000 patients a day with 200 sessions going live at a time to cover all three time zones concurrently,” emphasized Ms. Sonja Rodriguez, Systems Engineer and Program Manager for CGCA. CGCA launched in April and spans 42 clinics and 160 sickbays, ensuring even the most remotely located members of the Coast Guard workforce and their families can access medical support virtually and avoid hospitals when possible.

Supporting Operational Customers

Link Mission Support Performance to Coast Guard Operations

The FRC program delivered sentinel-class Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) CGC Charles Moulthrope and CGC Robert Goldman to their new homeport onboard Naval Support Activity Bahrain. Patrol Forces Southwest Asia (PATFORSWA), forward-deployed to Bahrain is comprised of six patrol vessels, shoreside mission support personnel, and the Maritime Engagement Team. PATFORSWA plays a crucial role in maritime security, maritime infrastructure protection, and theater security cooperation in the region.

What's Next?

The FRC program will work to acquire 64 fast response cutters total, 4 of which will join CGC Charles Moulthrope and CGC Robert Goldman. Mission Support provides critical support for operational customers through ensuring expeditionary logistics occur smoothly.

Supplying Competitive Recruitment Resources

Examine and Employ the Right Combination of Technologies and Information Sciences to Meet Future Readiness Needs

As the American job market becomes more competitive, Coast Guard Recruiting Command (CGRC) strives to maintain the Coast Guard as a competitor for top talent to ensure Coast Guard mission needs are met. As noted by Capt. Richter Tipton, commanding officer of CGRC, “Coast Guard Recruiting Command is aggressively working on one of the largest accession targets in more than a decade.” To better support Coast Guard mission, the CGRC offers a two-year active-duty enlistment option. “This effort, along with several others - like a rejuvenated ‘Everyone is a Recruiter' program - are tools we needed to help meet the needs of our service during a worldwide pandemic,” Capt. Tipton emphasized. Additionally, Mission Support now equips recruiters with tablet 2-in-1 devices to ensure recruiters can recruit the Coast Guard workforce of tomorrow at any location.

Mission Support Delivers Semper Paratus

"Thank you Mission Support Team for your achievements thus far. Please read my message to the workforce below detailing my vision for Mission Support's future." - VADM Paul Thomas, DCMS