Oversight Committee Releases Memorandum on Investigation into Misconduct at the U.S. Coast Guard

WASHINGTON—The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability has released an interim staff memorandum providing an update on the Committee’s ongoing investigation into the United States Coast Guard (USCG) following allegations of pervasive sexual assault and misconduct. The memorandum details how the USCG concealed “Operation Fouled Anchor” from Congress, failed to address both historic and persistent sexual misconduct at the USCG Academy, and neglected to help victims and hold perpetrators accountable.

Key Takeaways from the Interim Memorandum:

• USCG leadership made a cognizant decision to withhold Operation Fouled Anchor and other related misconduct reviews from Congress and the public. Former USCG Commandant Karl Schultz admitted in a transcribed interview with Committee investigators that he personally made the decision to withhold Operation Fouled Anchor and other related misconduct reviews from Congress and the public
• Former USCG Academy leadership did not notify the proper authorities and refused to follow USCG policy when dealing with instances of sexual assault and misconduct. Former USCG Investigative Service (CGIS) Director, Michael Berkow, testified that most cases investigated under Operation Fouled Anchor were not properly handled when they initially came to light. He also indicated that documents and records related to misconduct were not properly stored by the USCG Academy.

  The USCG Academy frequently declined to notify CGIS, as required, and instead improperly handled instances of misconduct internally. When CGIS was notified of misconduct, USCG Academy leadership ignored USCG policies and took actions during ongoing investigations, limiting accountability. 

• U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Services was not a fully functioning law enforcement agency at the time of the assaults investigated in Operation Fouled Anchor. CGIS was not a properly functioning law enforcement agency and lacked sufficient resources to conduct thorough investigations during the period investigated by Operation Fouled Anchor.

In December 2023, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs Chairman Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) opened a probe into the USCG’s mishandling of serious misconduct, including racism, hazing, discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape, and the withholding of internal investigations into these offenses from Congress and the public. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and USCG have obstructed the investigation and have not provided fulsome Reponses and documents pursuant to the committee’s request. This lack of compliance led the Committee to seek information from additional sources, including a score of whistleblowers and several former USCG senior leaders. In the course of the investigation, the Committee conducted transcribed interviews with several former senior leaders of the USCG.

Read the full memorandum here.