Blumenthal Statement on DHS OIG Report on Racial Harassment at Coast Guard Academy

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation with jurisdiction over the U.S. Coast Guard, released the following statement in response to a Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General report, which found that numerous serious allegations of racial harassment at the Coast Guard Academy were not properly investigated and no disciplinary action was taken:

“The reprehensible incidents contained in the Inspector General’s report on the U.S. Coast Guard Academy have no place in society much less our military institutions. Hate speech and race-based harassment by cadets at the Academy have gone largely underreported, if not entirely ignored. Inexcusably, cadets were not disciplined, procedures were not followed, and investigations were inadequate. While preaching its commitment to inclusivity and diversity, the Academy has failed miserably to protect its minority cadets from an atmosphere of racial hostility. The recommendations made in this report do not go nearly far enough. The Academy has had multiple opportunities to correct their culture and have failed to do so. As we listen to the global cries for racial justice, it is time for the Academy to adopt a comprehensive set of changes and truly commit to protecting all of its cadets. We must aggressively monitor the Academy’s actions to ensure that minority cadets do not ever encounter such acts of hatred and bias again.”

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