Before we begin today’s hearing, we pause to remember: Lieutenant Commander Andrew Wischmeier, Aviation Survival Technician First Class David Skimin, and, Aviation Maintenance Technician Second Class Joshua Nichols, who were all killed when the helicopter in which they were conducting training exercises crashed last week near Honolulu, Hawaii.  We also remember Commander Thomas Nelson, the Executive Officer of Air Station Barbers Point, who remains missing. These men gave their lives in service to our nation – and their deaths remind us of the risks that all Coast Guard members face everyday.  My prayers are with the families of those who are lost to us – and with their comrades throughout the Coast Guard.  I ask that you join me in a moment of silence in their honor.

Today, I convene the Subcommittee to consider diversity in the Coast Guard, including the recruitment, promotion, and retention of minority personnel.  In October of 2007, I visited the United States Coast Guard Academy to address the student body after a noose had been found in the effects of an African American cadet and in the office of an officer conducting diversity training.  The discovery of the nooses was obviously shocking to the conscience and completely unacceptable at any federal service academy. 

At that time, I emphasized to the Academy’s students that diversity, and our mutual respect for each other, are our greatest strengths as a nation.  Diversity is a promise that exists in every single individual -- a promise that can only be cultivated and fully realized through our collective commitment to assure fair treatment to everyone.

Yesterday, Congresswoman Sanchez, my colleague on the House Armed Services Committee, and I hosted a briefing conducted by the RAND Corporation in which Dr. Nelson Lim presented the options and recommendations RAND had developed for leaders of the Department of Defense to assist them as they plan for diversity in all ranks of the DOD services.  I emphasize that expanding diversity is a challenge in all of the military services – not just in the Coast Guard – and I think it is important for each service to learn from the successes and challenges of the other services.

The key point the RAND Corporation made is the following: in order for any strategic plan for supporting diversity to be effective, leaders must define diversity and they must also explain how they intend to measure progress toward greater diversity and how they will hold themselves and others accountable for their progress.  While the Coast Guard is not part of the DOD, the lessons that RAND offered to the DOD are completely applicable to the Coast Guard.

Under the leadership of Admiral Thad Allen, the Commandant of the Coast Guard, whom I know to be a man of the highest honor and integrity, the Coast Guard is taking steps to prioritize the expansion of diversity.  In July of this year, the Commandant indicated that the Coast Guard would “redouble” its commitment to creating a more diverse workforce and he announced new leadership and diversity initiatives the Coast Guard will now be pursuing.  

In August, the Commandant provided an update on the implementation of some of those initiatives in the form of a message issued to all members of the Coast Guard – commonly referred to as an “ ALL COAST .”  The message described important steps the service is taking to expand its outreach.  For example, the Commandant announced that flag officers and Senior Executive Service staff members would partner with minority serving institutions, Hispanic serving institutions, and Tribal Council institutions to raise the Coast Guard’s visibility and to develop on-going relationships.  These are important initiatives and I am anxious to hear more about how their implementation is proceeding. 

However, drawing on the lessons presented by the RAND Corporation, it is imperative that the Coast Guard’s diversity initiatives form a coherent tactical plan designed to implement the Coast Guard’s specific diversity goals.  Therefore, I also look forward to discussing today how the Coast Guard defines its goals and how it will measure progress toward the achievement of these goals.

According to data from the Defense Manpower Data Center , in 2007, 13.8 percent of the officer corps and 16.9 percent of the members of the enlisted ranks of the Coast Guard were minorities.  About 14 percent of the students in the class of 2011 at the Coast Guard Academy are minorities, including individuals who self-identify as being multi-racial.  These are strong numbers, but they can be stronger.  Importantly, however, and this goes back to my earlier point, diversity should be defined to include not only the representation of certain groups, but their success and their effective inclusion in an entity. 

I firmly believe the Coast Guard needs to bring the challenge of minority recruiting down to a personal basis.  Each flag officer and each commanding officer of an air station, sector, cutter, or buoy tender should be challenged to recruit one minority individual to apply to the Coast Guard Academy , the C-SPI program, or to your Officer Candidate School .  Current minority officers in the Coast Guard, as well as Coast Guard alumni, should also be challenged to reach out to members of minority communities to present to them their first-hand knowledge of the opportunities associated with service in the Coast Guard.  I strongly believe that recruiting minority service members cannot just be left to the recruiters; it needs to be everyone’s shared priority. 

Additionally, each service member must make it a priority to do all that he or she can to create an atmosphere in which each individual feels his or her expertise and perspective are valued.  With that, I look forward to hearing from Admiral Breckenridge and Master Chief Isherwood today as we examine the steps the Coast Guard is taking to ensure that our nation’s shield of freedom reflects the diversity that is truly one of the greatest sources of our nation’s strength.

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