WASHINGTON — Admiral Kevin Lunday, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard, issued the following statement:
A recent media report about the U.S. Coast Guard contained numerous inaccuracies about the Service.
Among those, the allegation that the Secretary of Homeland Security directed the Acting Commandant to divert a C-130 long range aircraft from a search for a missing U.S. Coast Guard crewmember who went overboard from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter at sea is categorically false. That never happened. The U.S. Coast Guard conducted an exhaustive search over several days using all available assets, including a C-130 aircraft, in an all-out effort to locate our missing crewmember.
Search and rescue is not just one of the Coast Guard’s missions, it is a sacred trust we have with the American people we serve, including 5,220 lives saved in 2025. Reporting that suggests otherwise does a disservice to the men and women of the Coast Guard.
Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, the Coast Guard has delivered record results and value for the American people over the past year. The men and women of the Coast Guard take great pride in that. The Service has controlled the U.S. border and maritime approaches, including seizing record amounts of deadly illegal drugs at sea that were destined for U.S. communities, and stopping the flow of illegal immigration by sea. The Service has facilitated commerce that is vital to U.S. economic prosperity by ensuring the safety and security of U.S. ports, waterways, and shipping in the physical domain and cyberspace. And the Coast Guard has successfully responded to crises, including rescuing those in distress such as saving lives during the devastating storms and flooding in Texas and Alaska in the past year. More recently, Coast Guard icebreakers have kept waterways open and commerce moving in the face of the most severe Arctic cold to hit the mid-Atlantic and Northeast in over a decade. The Coast Guard is implementing Secretary Noem’s direction through Force Design 2028 to renew the Service to become more agile, capable, and responsive and deliver greater value to the Nation. As a reflection of the Secretary's strong advocacy and support for the Coast Guard and its workforce, the Service has seen its greatest recruiting success in over 30 years.
For media inquiries contact mediarelations@uscg.mil.
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About the U.S. Coast Guard
With more than 95,000 miles of shoreline, 25,000 miles of navigable rivers and 4.5 million square miles of U.S. exclusive economic zone, the U.S. Coast Guard defends the Nation, protects the marine transportation system, regulates and safeguards ports and waterways, leads the Nation in maritime drug interdiction and secures the maritime border. As a member of the joint force, a law enforcement organization, a regulatory agency and a member of the U.S. intelligence community, the Coast Guard employs a unique mix of authorities to ensure the safety and integrity of the maritime domain to protect the economic and national security of the nation. More than 76,000 members of the Coast Guard operate a multi-mission, interoperable fleet of more than 220 cutters, 185 fixed and rotary-wing aircraft, 1,300 boats and its own dedicated cyber command to protect critical maritime infrastructure.
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