Coast Guard: Assessing Deployable Specialized Forces' Workforce Needs Could Improve Efficiency and Reduce Potential Overlap or Gaps in Capabilities
Fast Facts
The U.S. Coast Guard uses specialized forces to protect ports and waters from terrorism, drug activity, or environmental disasters. These forces often rely upon similar skill sets, so most of the specially trained units can perform similar if not the same missions.
However, we found this can potentially result in overlapping responsibilities and underutilized units. For example, one unit from Seattle was sent to San Francisco for a mission when there was already another local unit equipped to handle it.
We recommended the Coast Guard assess the extent of unnecessary overlap to save money and streamline specialized units.
Coast Guard personnel conduct specialized training in Florida.
Two Coast Guard boats on the water
Highlights
What GAO Found
In reorganizing its Deployable Specialized Forces (Specialized Forces) in 2013, the Coast Guard generally applied three of five key practices for agency reorganization, including establishing goals and outcomes, engaging stakeholders, and addressing longstanding management challenges, such as training shortfalls. However, the Coast Guard did not fully apply the other two key practices—using data and evidence and addressing potential overlap and duplication within the Specialized Forces workforce. For example:
- The Coast Guard has not assessed the overall Specialized Forces workforce needs, as this practice recommends. Officials from some units stated that they experienced periods of underutilization, while other units with the same or similar capabilities turned down operations for lack of available personnel.
- GAO identified some overlap among the capabilities of the different Specialized Forces units and the Coast Guard missions they support—in some cases Specialized Forces units were co-located with other Specialized Forces units with many of the same capabilities and similar missions. In August 2019, Coast Guard officials acknowledged that the 2013 reorganization did not conduct an analysis of potential overlap or duplication of capabilities and agreed that overlap or gaps in Specialized Forces capabilities could exist.
Assessing workforce needs and the extent to which unnecessary overlap or duplication may exist among Specialized Forces would help ensure that the agency effectively allocates resources and uses them efficiently.
Coast Guard Personnel Conducting a Drug Interdiction Operation
Why GAO Did This Study
The U.S. Coast Guard, within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), is the principal federal agency charged with ensuring the security and safety of the waters under U.S. jurisdiction. To help carry out its missions, the Coast Guard maintains Specialized Forces units with the capabilities needed to handle drug interdiction, terrorism, and other threats to the U.S. maritime environment. The Coast Guard reorganized the command structure of these units in 2007 and again in 2013.
The Maritime Security Improvement Act of 2018 included a provision for GAO to evaluate Specialized Forces units and provide a report to Congress. This report examines the extent to which the Coast Guard addressed key practices and considerations for assessing reorganization of its Specialized Forces units. GAO assessed the Coast Guard report and associated workforce planning documentation and data used for its 2013 reorganization and analyzed the extent to which the agency applied key practices. GAO also analyzed guidance and data on Specialized Forces capabilities and operations to identify potential overlap or gaps and interviewed agency officials.
Recommendations
GAO makes two recommendations to DHS. First, GAO recommends that the Coast Guard conduct an analysis of its Specialized Forces' workforce needs, with which DHS concurred. Second, GAO recommends that the Coast Guard assess the extent to which unnecessary overlap or duplication exists. Although DHS did not concur, GAO continues to believe the findings documented in the report support the recommendation.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Coast Guard | The Coast Guard should conduct a comprehensive analysis of its Deployable Specialized Forces' workforce needs. (Recommendation 1) |
In November 2019, GAO reported that the Coast Guard did not fully apply a leading practice for using data and evidence when it reorganized its Deployable Specialized Forces because it had not assessed its overall Specialized Forces workforce needs, as recommended by this practice. As a result, GAO recommended that the Coast Guard conduct a comprehensive analysis of its Deployable Specialized Forces' workforce needs. The Coast Guard, through DHS, concurred with GAO's recommendation that it conduct a comprehensive analysis of its Specialized Forces' workforce needs. In its May 2020 180-day letter response, DHS stated that the Coast Guard identified its Maritime Safety and Security Team as the highest priority Specialized Forces unit for workforce analysis and that it was scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal year 2021. Subsequently, in December 2022 the Coast Guard contracted with RAND to conduct a mission analysis of its deployable specialized forces. In November 2024, the Coast Guard provided GAO the results of its analysis, which was limited due to data quality issues. As such, the Coast Guard focused on one mission-ports, waterways, and coastal security mission. The applicability of the Coast Guard's report is limited to those specific situations and does not address all missions, including counterdrug and fisheries, and does not explicitly assess Port Security Units . Nevertheless, the report acknowledges that Port Security Unit's reserve force capabilities have significant overlaps in mission and mission capabilities with its Maritime Security and Safety Teams . Notwithstanding the overlap, the report also identified a number of gaps and potential solutions for the Coast Guard to address those gaps. By conducting an analysis of its Deployable Specialized Workforce needs, albeit limited in scope, the Coast Guard now has more comprehensive information about overlaps and gaps, which the Coast Guard may choose to use to optimize the allocation of personnel among Specialized Forces units, as well as the number of units. Using additional data and evidence to assess workforce needs across Specialized Forces units will better position the Coast Guard to prioritize its Specialized Forces efforts to more effectively achieve desired outcomes.
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| United States Coast Guard | The Coast Guard should assess the extent to which unnecessary overlap or duplication exists among Deployable Specialized Forces' capabilities. (Recommendation 2) |
In November 2019, GAO reported that the Coast Guard did not address potential overlap and duplication within its Specialized Forces. GAO identified some overlap among the capabilities of the different Specialized Forces units and the Coast Guard missions they support. In response, GAO recommended that the Coast Guard assess the extent to which unnecessary overlap or duplication exists among Deployable Specialized Forces' capabilities. The Coast Guard did not agree with the recommendation in its November 2019 response to GAO's draft report. However, in technical comments provided in March 2020, the Coast Guard indicated that as of February 2020 it had not conducted the analysis necessary to fully identify potential overlap among the units. In its May 2020 180-day letter response, DHS stated that given funding constrains and competing mission requirements, the Coast Guard could not consider conducting analyses not directly tied to improving mission outcomes. Subsequently, in December 2022 the Coast Guard contracted with RAND to conduct a mission analysis of its deployable specialized forces. In November 2024, the Coast Guard provided GAO with the results of its analysis, which focused on its ports, waterways, and coastal security mission due to data reliability and other challenges. The applicability of the Coast Guard's report is limited to those specific situations and does not address all missions, including counterdrug and fisheries, and does not explicitly assess Port Security Units. However, the report acknowledges that Port Security Unit's reserve force capabilities have significant overlaps in mission and mission capabilities with its Maritime Security and Safety Teams. Notwithstanding the overlap, the report identified a number of gaps and potential solutions to address those gaps, for the Coast Guard to consider. The Coast Guard has better information to take action to reduce the risk of unnecessary overlap or duplication, which could result in future cost savings, as well as gaps among competing missions including drug interdiction and ports, waterways, and coastal security. As such, the Coast Guard is better positioned to reallocate resources, as needed, to use them more effectively, among the Specialized Forces units.
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