JANUARY 9, 2026 — Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, the U.S. Coast Guard concluded 2025 with significant operational achievements across its missions, including record-setting drug interdictions, major contingency responses, and continued progress in Force Design 2028 – a bold blueprint to transform the Coast Guard to meet evolving and complex maritime challenges. As a member of the Department of Homeland Security team protecting America, and the joint military force that defends it, the Coast Guard is a vital instrument of national power to ensure our Nation’s maritime dominance.
“The men and women of the Coast Guard delivered extraordinary results for our Nation in 2025,” said Adm. Kevin E. Lunday, acting commandant. “From securing the border and interdicting illegal drugs to facilitating maritime commerce and responding rapidly to crises, their success is driving the momentum we carry into 2026. Through Force Design 2028, we are building a more agile, capable, and responsive fighting force to protect the American people and advance national security.”
Interdicting record amount of illegal narcotics
In 2025, Coast Guard forces operating in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean achieved the largest annual maritime drug interdiction results in service history, seizing over 511,000 pounds of narcotics, valued at more than $3.8 billion, and disrupting transnational criminal organizations. These results, which stopped over 193 million potentially lethal doses from reaching U.S. communities, indicate that Coast Guard counter-drug and law enforcement operations save American taxpayers over $10 billion in avoided costs, including over $2.3 billion in healthcare costs from cocaine interdictions alone.
Operations such as Operation Pacific Viper demonstrated the Coast Guard’s ability to integrate cutters, aircraft, unmanned systems and specialized forces to maintain pressure in key maritime zones. The operation, launched in August 2025, surged forces to the Eastern Pacific to stop the cartels and criminal organizations by interdicting drugs and illegal aliens before reaching American shores. By increasing presence and assets in the region, in less than three months, Coast Guard crews seized over 100,000 pounds of narcotics, averaging approximately 1,600 pounds of cocaine interdicted daily. During the operation, Coast Guard Cutter Stone interdicted the most illegal narcotics ever seized by a unit on a single deployment in the Nation’s history, over 60,000 pounds of cocaine (over 22 million potentially lethal doses) valued at $447 million.
In August 2025, the Coast Guard’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, also known as HITRON, conducted its 1,000th counter-narcotics interdiction, successfully using airborne use of force to disable a narco-smuggling vessel in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. In 2025, HITRON interdicted over $2.1 billion in illicit drugs during operations in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean.
Controlling, securing, and defending our borders
The Coast Guard patrolled over 100,000 miles of U.S. border and interdicted, deterred and/or transported over 11,000 illegal aliens in 2025. In March 2025, the Coast Guard launched and led Operation Border Trident, an interagency effort to combat transnational terrorist and criminal organizations and illegal alien activity in the California Coastal Region. The Service surged assets, including Fast Response Cutters, National Security Cutters, aircraft, and unmanned systems to curb the flow of illegal maritime migration, increasing interdictions in the region by 44% over 2024 levels. The Service also executed Operation River Wall, a focused maritime border security operation designed to deter, detect and disrupt illicit activity and illegal migration along the Rio Grade Valley River. Through intelligence-driven patrols and close coordination with federal, state and local partners, the operation enhanced maritime domain dominance and helped protect the border.
Strengthening national security through Arctic operations
Arctic readiness remains a critical priority for the Coast Guard as activity in the region continues to increase and strategic interest intensifies. From July to September 2025, five Chinese research vessels operated over the U.S. extended continental shelf in the Arctic, the largest number to date. Coast Guard Cutters Healy, Waesche and Storis – the first Coast Guard icebreaker acquired in over 25 years – intercepted and challenged these vessels.
Maritime security teams carry out targeted boardings
In 2025, the Coast Guard demonstrated its unique expertise and authority in maritime law enforcement and national security by conducting a series of high-profile boardings of oil tankers suspected of violating U.S. sanctions and maritime regulations including M/V Skipper and Centuries. Through close coordination with counterparts at the Departments of Justice, State and War, Coast Guard tactical teams applied specialized capabilities to conduct safe, effective boardings consistent with international law.
Forces execute rapid response to major contingencies
The Coast Guard responded to major contingencies in 2025, including flooding in the Pacific Northwest, Texas and Alaska.
- The Coast Guard launched a multi-agency response to historic flooding in Western Washington, launching 17 air missions to rescue victims and assess damage to maritime infrastructure.
- During the catastrophic flash floods in Texas, Coast Guard aircrews from Air Stations Corpus Christi and Houston conducted several flights into the affected area, rescuing and assisting in the evacuation of more than 200 victims.
- During the ex-typhoon Halong storm in Western Alaska, the Coast Guard saved 34 lives, evacuated 28 people to Bethel, and oversaw the cleanup of over 500 gallons of spilled fuel to protect Alaskan waters.
- Working within an interagency Unified Command, the Coast Guard led successful firefighting, salvage, and recovery operations for a ship fire that occurred aboard the container ship One Henry Hudson in the Port of Los Angeles.
Protecting the American people through search and rescue missions
Throughout 2025, the Coast Guard conducted thousands of search and rescue cases across coastal waters, offshore regions and inland waterways. In total, Coast Guard crews saved 5,220 lives, assisted 19,437 people and saved or assisted more than $1.02 billion in property. These efforts included responses to severe weather, medical emergencies and disabled vessels while coordinating rescues conducted in challenging and often unforgiving maritime environments.
Securing the marine transportation system to facilitate commerce
The Coast Guard plays a critical role in facilitating the safe and secure flow of commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility, while ensuring the security of the Nation’s ports and waterways. Through vigilant oversight, unique Captain of the Port authorities, strong partnerships with maritime stakeholders, and the maintenance and servicing of more than 50,000 aids to navigation nationwide, the Coast Guard enables mariners to transit U.S. waters safely and efficiently. In support of the marine transportation system, the Coast Guard conducted 33,370 vessel inspections and 16,012 facility inspections and facilitated the movement of more than 1.8 billion tons of cargo through U.S. waters, helping sustain an economic engine projected to move $5.4 trillion in goods to, from, and within the United States in 2026.
Recruitment achieves new records across the force
The Coast Guard achieved record-setting recruiting results in 2025, marking the Service’s best recruiting performance since 1991 and significantly strengthening workforce readiness. This included the largest number of officer accessions in recorded history. The Coast Guard accessed more than 6,000 active-duty and reserve enlisted members. These results reflect sustained investments in recruiting, opened seven new recruiting offices nationwide, and continued congressional support to build an agile, capable and responsive maritime fighting force.
Force design strengthens operational readiness
In 2025, the Coast Guard launched Force Design 2028 – a transformation of the Service to meet the evolving national challenges and ensure we have the most agile, capable, and responsive maritime fighting force to protect our Nation. Force Design 2028 focuses on workforce readiness, operational alignment, and modernized command and control. These efforts are strengthening mission execution focused on people, organization, acquisitions and technology, including growing the workforce by 15,000 and establishing a Secretary of the Coast Guard.
Looking ahead
The Coast Guard stands watch on the maritime frontlines – controlling, securing, and defending our borders and maritime approaches; facilitating the flow of commerce vital to economic prosperity and strategic mobility; and responding to crises and contingencies that may come with little to no warning. Always ready to act, the Coast Guard will continue to meet evolving threats and deliver decisive results for the American people.
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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