Coast Guard Is Short on Manpower, But Lack of Data Makes 'True Magnitude' Unknown, Watchdog Says
Rachel Nostrant
Tue, November 14, 2023 at 4:25 PM EST·3 min read
The Coast Guard could be facing an even greater personnel shortage than current estimates suggest, testimony during a House hearing Tuesday revealed, but data and workplace assessment failures mean the exact number is unknown.
Lawmakers on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee suggested during the hearing that the Coast Guard was facing a 3,000-person shortfall. But according to the Government Accountability Office, it's likely thousands more because the Coast Guard has yet to conduct an entire branchwide manpower assessment.
"The Coast Guard estimates that it is short thousands of service members. Without workforce assessments, it does not know the true magnitude of the shortfall and which units or missions are most effective," Heather Macleod, the director of GAO's Homeland Security and Justice team, told the committee. Just 15% of workplace assessments have been completed for units across the service.
https://news.yahoo.com/coast-guard-short-manpower-lack-212558336.html
