Admiral Linda Lee Fagan, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, was terminated by the Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, over her leadership deficiencies and not advancing the Coast Guard’s strategic objectives.

Fagan, 61, was the first uniformed female leader of any branch of the U.S. military. But under the Biden Administration, the emphasis in the Coast Guard shifted away from securing the border, recruitment, and even building the icebreakers needed in a time of Arctic security concerns. She also mishandled Operation Fouled Anchor.

The House Oversight and Accountability Committee released a report in December, which stated the Coast Guard leadership “made a cognizant decision to withhold Operation Fouled Anchor and other related misconduct reviews from Congress and the public.“

Operation Foul Anchor was an investigation into serious misconduct, including racism, hazing, discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and rape. The committee report memo can be seen at this link. Or here:

One senior official told news outlets there had been a significant “erosion of trust.”

The command change impacts Alaska, where there are 13,000 of active duty, reserve, civilian, and auxiliary personnel, in addition to their families in the U.S. Coast Guard communities, with stations in Juneau, Kodiak, Anchorage, Cordova, Sitka, Petersburg, and Valdez.

The memo of Fagan’s dismissal names Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, who has been vice commandant since last summer, as acting commandant, effective immediately. The memo did not mention the erosion of trust or leadership deficiencies:

“The following message is forwarded on behalf of Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Huffman.  Under my statutory authority as the Acting Secretary of the  Department of Homeland Security I have relieved Admiral Linda L. Fagan of her duties as Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. She served a long and illustrious career, and I thank her for her service to our nation. Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, by operation of law, is now the Acting Commandant of the United States Coast Guard and assumes all the authority and responsibilities of the office.”

Admiral Lunday previously served as commander, Atlantic area where he  directed operations from the navigable inland waterways east of the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, and East Coast of the U.S. throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf.  

He served under presidential appointment as director, Department of Homeland Security Joint Task Force East, responsible for unifying operations to secure the U.S. Southeast Border and maritime approaches, including leading efforts to deter and prevent maritime mass migration from Haiti and Cuba. 

Admiral Lunday has extensive experience in the Indo-Pacific where he served as Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, directing operations throughout Oceania, including Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, as well as activities in Japan and Singapore. He led efforts to strengthen partnerships through maritime security with other Pacific Island nations in the face of growing strategic competition.   

Lunday served as Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command where he directed the operation, maneuver, and defense of the Coast Guard Enterprise Mission Platform as part of Department of Defense networks.  He also directed remote and deployable cyberspace operations to protect U.S. maritime critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Prior to this role he served as Director of Exercises and Training (J7), U.S. Cyber Command where he directed the joint training and certification of the DoD Cyber Mission Force, the joint U.S. warfighting force in cyberspace. 

His other Flag assignments include deputy for Materiel Readiness where he oversaw enterprise program management for Coast Guard acquisitions and contracting, information technology, and engineering and logistics.  He also served as Assistant Commandant for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Information Technology where he performed the duties of Chief Information Officer.   

Admiral Lunday is a career national security attorney and judge advocate, licensed to practice in multiple states and before the U.S. Supreme Court.  He is also a Certified Information Privacy Professional and has spoken and published on cybersecurity, privacy, technology, and the law.  He is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College with a Master of Science in National Security Strategy, and graduate of the Naval War College with distinction. He holds a Juris Doctor with high honors from George Washington University Law School and Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering with honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. His is a recipient of the American Bar Association Outstanding Military Service Career Judge Advocate Award (2005) and National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction (2004) for his leadership integrating the Coast Guard into the U.S. Intelligence Community.  He has earned additional personal, team, and campaign awards during 37 years of Coast Guard service.