GAO Finds Coast Guard Modernization Lacks Oversight Plans

Why it Matters

The Coast Guard received its largest single funding commitment in history, with Congress allocating nearly $25 billion for the service in 2025 and another $13.5 billion for 2026. However, a new Government Accountability Office report found that the service lacks key management tools needed to oversee its modernization efforts and measure whether reforms are achieving their intended results.

GAO found that the Coast Guard has not fully aligned its modernization initiatives with its 11 statutory missions, developed performance measures to evaluate progress, or resolved longstanding acquisition and workforce planning challenges. The findings come as billions of dollars in new funding are being directed toward the service’s modernization efforts.

The Coast Guard manages maritime safety, national security, and law enforcement missions across U.S. waters. GAO’s findings raise questions about whether the service has the oversight structures necessary to translate increased funding into improved operational capabilities.

The Funding Surge and What It Means

Congress provided nearly $25 billion for Coast Guard modernization in 2025 through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, with funding available through Sept. 30, 2029. The appropriation represents a significant increase over typical annual Coast Guard funding and reflects congressional interest in modernizing the service’s aging infrastructure, vessels, and workforce.

The Coast Guard plans to obligate $20 billion of that funding by the end of 2026, creating pressure to execute major acquisition and modernization efforts quickly. The service has already obligated approximately $2.4 billion in contracts for the Arctic Security Cutter program. The additional $13.5 billion appropriated in 2026 further increases the scale of the modernization effort.

The funding increase comes as the Coast Guard continues to address longstanding challenges in acquisition, workforce recruitment and retention, and aging equipment. GAO has previously identified cost overruns, schedule delays, and portfolio affordability concerns within Coast Guard acquisition programs.

Force Design 2028: Ambition Without Accountability

In May 2025, the Department of Homeland Security announced Force Design 2028, the Coast Guard’s modernization plan focused on four areas: organization, people, technology, and contracting and acquisition. The initiative includes a goal of increasing the Coast Guard workforce by 15,000 uniformed personnel across active-duty and reserve components.

GAO found that the Coast Guard has not developed a performance plan or similar framework to evaluate whether Force Design 2028 is achieving its goals. The January 2026 Force Design update outlined reforms implemented over the previous year but did not systematically measure progress against the initiative’s objectives.

The report also found that Force Design 2028 documents referenced “mission” 40 times but did not demonstrate how proposed reforms align with the Coast Guard’s 11 statutory missions and strategic plan. GAO noted that clearer alignment is needed to ensure modernization investments support the service’s operational requirements.

A Pattern of Implementation Failure

This is not the first time the Coast Guard has struggled to execute modernization. GAO has reviewed four previous Coast Guard reform efforts since 2019 involving sexual misconduct, mission planning and mission support modernization, reserve component reorganization, and deployable specialized forces. Across those efforts, GAO issued 12 recommendations. As of June, seven had been fully addressed and five remained open.

GAO found that leadership attention declined during implementation in three of the four reform efforts. In two of the four efforts, the Coast Guard did not fully establish goals and desired outcomes. The service also did not fully assess workforce needs in three reform areas: sexual misconduct, mission planning modernization, and reserve component reform.

The Coast Guard has improved its workforce planning efforts. In 2020, the service had completed workforce requirements determinations for 6% of its workforce. By March 2026, that figure had increased to approximately 26%. However, GAO noted that most of the workforce still lacks formal requirements determinations as the service plans to add 15,000 personnel.

Acquisition Problems Persist

The Coast Guard's acquisition challenges remain largely unresolved. Since 2012, GAO has made 54 recommendations on how to better address Coast Guard acquisition challenges. As of June 2026, 16 of those recommendations remain open.

Two recent examples highlight the tension between ambition and execution. The Coast Guard has not yet completed an analysis of the cost and sequencing for its polar icebreaker fleet expansion, as GAO recommended in December 2024. In November 2025, GAO recommended the Offshore Patrol Cutter program stabilize its design before authorizing additional ships. The Coast Guard did not agree with that recommendation.

These disputes matter because the Coast Guard has billions of dollars allocated for acquisition. Poor planning and design instability have historically led to cost growth and schedule delays. With fresh funding in hand, the service faces pressure to execute quickly, which can amplify acquisition risk if management rigor slips.

Marine Safety and Aging Systems

The Coast Guard continues to face challenges maintaining sufficient marine safety inspection personnel. GAO has reported on marine safety workforce challenges for more than four decades. In January 2022, GAO issued recommendations related to Coast Guard inspector workforce planning. As of June 2026, four of five recommendations remained open.

The service also relies on the Marine Information for Safety and Law Enforcement system, or MISLE, an aging information technology system used to track and report data across Coast Guard missions. GAO identified longstanding challenges with MISLE in July 2020, and replacement efforts remained underway as of June 2026.

What GAO Recommends

GAO issued two recommendations directed to the Commandant of the Coast Guard. The first recommends updating modernization documents to ensure alignment with Coast Guard missions, desired outcomes, and measurable targets for each reform area. The second recommends developing an evaluation plan to assess the effectiveness of Force Design 2028 actions.

The recommendations focus on establishing management and accountability structures as the Coast Guard moves forward with its largest modernization effort to date. While the service has received significant new resources, GAO found that additional planning and oversight mechanisms are needed to ensure those investments achieve their intended goals.

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