Support Our Coast Guard: A Call to Invest in America's Most Overlooked Maritime Force

At the recent Sea Air Space conference near Washington, D.C., I heard Vice Admiral Andrew Tiongson, Commander of the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area, respond to a question about what a truly Pacific-capable Coast Guard would look like. His answer was candid, sobering, and unforgettable: “I can tell you what an underfunded one looks like.”

He then described in stark terms what those of us in maritime and coastal communities already know: America's Coast Guard — tasked with missions from search and rescue to maritime security and drug interdiction — is aging, under-resourced, and too often overlooked.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s annual budget hovers just above $13 billion—less than a tenth of the U.S. Navy’s and smaller than the budgets of many peer nation coast guards. Yet the demand for the Coast Guard’s presence—both at home and abroad—is growing. From enforcing international fishing laws in the Indo-Pacific to interdicting narcotics in the Caribbean, the U.S. Coast Guard is a global player with a local footprint. And in places like Southwest Florida, that footprint is personal.

We’ve seen firsthand what a dedicated team can do on a shoestring. Look no further than the remarkable work done by Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg and cutters like USCGC Resolute and USCGC Venturous.

These crews routinely conduct high-stakes missions far from port, operating in challenging conditions with aging platforms and limited funding. These two ships are nearly twice the age at which Navy ships face mandatory retirement. The successes of these crews—including recent multi-ton drug interdictions and critical hurricane response—are a testament to the professionalism and resolve of our Coast Guard personnel and the resolve and resilience of their leaders.

But their ability to do more with less should not be a reason to give them even less.

Hurricane Ian hit Southwest Florida hard, and the damage to our local Coast Guard stations was significant. At Station Cortez, crews worked tirelessly to restore operational capability even as their own facilities were damaged. The station in Fort Myers suffered substantial losses — losses that would take a better-resourced agency years to recover from. Yet the Coast Guard never paused its life-saving work. That’s who they are.

In 2024, our Coast Guard units faced unprecedented challenges due to back-to-back hurricanes. Hurricane Helene struck in late September as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic inland flooding, extreme winds, and deadly storm surges that devastated portions of Florida's Big Bend region. Just weeks later, Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing significant flooding and damaging winds to much of the state.

These consecutive storms inflicted severe damage on Coast Guard facilities, including those within Sector St. Petersburg. Despite these hardships, our Coast Guard personnel demonstrated unwavering dedication, conducting search and rescue operations that saved numerous lives. However, the compounded strain of responding to such disasters with limited resources underscores the urgent need for increased funding to ensure our Coast Guard is equipped to handle the escalating frequency of severe weather events.

We cannot continue to take this level of service for granted. The maritime industry — from port security to commercial shipping and offshore energy — depends on a fully functioning Coast Guard. So too do our international allies, who increasingly look to the U.S. Coast Guard for training, interoperability, and presence in contested waters, particularly in the Indo-Pacific where China’s maritime influence is growing by the day.

President Trump’s April 9 executive orders — aimed at revitalizing American maritime capacity and rebuilding the U.S. fleet — are an important signal that America must get serious about its maritime future. But executive action must be met with legislative support and long-overdue increase in the funding of this service.

This is where Congress comes in. As Floridians, we must urge our representatives to back increased Coast Guard funding in the FY26 budget and beyond. Our national security, economic vitality, and disaster response capabilities depend on it. We invest billions in advanced warfighting capabilities — rightly so — but leave one of our most versatile, visible, and valued services chronically underfunded.

The Coast Guard is not just a branch of the military. It is an all-weather, all-mission force that stands the watch 24/7, around the globe. It deserves funding that matches the scope of its mission.

As president of the Sarasota-Manatee Council of the Navy League, I can tell you that support for the sea services begins at the community level. But the time has come for national leaders to step up and match that local support with real dollars.

We’ve seen what an underfunded Coast Guard looks like. Let’s imagine — and fund — the one we actually need.

Gene Moran is President of the Sarasota-Manatee Council, Navy League of the United States.