Moderate the conversation and also do that. Before i begin, i just want to remind everyone that this is the fourth of our Maritime Security dialogue series of 2019. Our Maritime Security dialogue is cohosted between csis and our partners at the u. S. Naval institute. And our goal is to highlight Current Issues and future challenges facing the navy, marine corps and coast guard. I want to thank our sponsor, Huntington Ingalls industries who has made this possible. Today were talking with admiral karl schultz, a commandant of the marine corps. And i want to get right into it. We were lucky enough to have you join us in august of 2018. Pete daily was the moderator for that session and here we are a yearplus beyond that, a few months beyond that when you began which was roughly may 2018. I would love to ask you to reflect a bit on where you feel the coast guard is really making progress on the key issues youre facing and where you feel like you still have significant hurdles you want to tackle. Sure. Good morning. Good morning. Thank you and thank you for the opportunity to be back here at csis. I took over on 1 june and here we are a year and a half later. Its been a fascinating 16 months or so here. We came in rolling into the job, i think i saw the biggest opportunity challenge ahead of us to be the demand for coast guard services. The number one priority, and really doubled down. With that strategy and the fall, and put out the strategic outlook, that looked out the we focus on what was the coast guard there. The average citizen doesnt have the coast guard to be looked at what is our role, modernizing information systems, and we build a coast guard workforce that will keep pace. They will double here, we look at the artist for strategic outlook in this past spring, and were talked about it in the 2018. There is a bit of an ocean, and we are optimistically hoping for that. We crafted, at this event, and we are off to the races. We were in the past is april and the conversation now is not about, but have actually built additional, we focus and on a sixyear strategy, that needed to be heavy and that we continue to build National Security and focus a lot on people. And one of the things i see is the biggest challenge facing my success at common dot is a collaborative workplace. More than 70 are eligible to serve, we have 15 women, society at large, so we have to better their to represent minorities, 35 years where they went without pay, that was challenging. And iraq thats a little bit as an arm servicemen, left out like that so its been pretty fast. To put a final point on that, the department of defense to receive appropriations that because you are under department of Homeland Security coast guard. It was interesting because starting the physical year through november 21st, that creates some challenges for federal agencies. The coast guard is not unique to others but well see where we go in the coming weeks. , okay i want to go back over some of the things that you mentioned. Youre able to tease all the big issues. Lets are on the peoples side. To recruit and retain, which has been a challenge for some of the other armed services. How is the coast guard doing if you mentioned the issue of trying to attract more women, so i would love for you to reflect on that. What are the challenges you are facing and how is the coast guard going about that challenge . Back in january 2018, if you Pay Attention to the armed forces at large, one of the systems we are on a 20 year, you have nothing until 20 and then you have 50 as of 2018, we have 2 a year and you can draw after 12 years, so the young marine looks around and says, do i really want to continue to serve here. We offer about 18 months kicker to reach two more years. And about a nine years, if he had that coast guard at that, point you have until 20 years because you can get a little bit of return on the investment. Its a good thing for the nation, we put a nation at war here so i dont think men and women will serve without some kind of posttraumatic stress disorder. Thats that, for the organization like the coast guard, whos journeyman a lot of marketable skills, its something we really have to Pay Attention to. So a young coast guard, female marine science technician down in houston who is very savvy, in the coming, years working on the waterfront as a family and they can do the pay charts as well. So they offer the smart coast guard woman hundred 50 k to stay in place, seen as a spouse thats working, kids that are. Happy that challenging for us our retention matters. Thats going to be challenging for the coast guard but we have to have a great brand, we have to focus on the coast, and their families, health care and we kept at about 50 tuition. And a flat budget environment, its one of the tough choices we make. We look at all those things. Another thing you mentioned is readiness operations. What is your sense of your recovery path. What are you on that path . Is that the right way to describe it . One thing i did not mention, and the womens retention they hit the street and, march we have been underway for the good part of the year, we are losing women there on what we call our body, and we go in the scale, it will be enough for it and if you did not get enough, we do body fat measures, we find where its threefold rate. We have some new body composition programs, the initial way that you walk hand and the new circumference, we try to for folks that are below. If you have a colocated spouse, we will guarantee you that you and i were a couple, years for, years i had to. What kind of decisions are you making interview childcare. Well find out what they will get. If you step out to have a child, it is to be because we have a lot of small units, youll be away for a long time. So youre shipmates pick up the slack for the good part of the departure. Well figure out whats right here and here she got some active time and were pretty proud of that. It resonated a lot with our workforce. We continue to march down the road with that. Back to your readiness question. On the readiness front, its been a lot of a dialog. When the president came in in 2016, it was the National Security president ial that was really how we are going to make the armed forces more healthy, they were having the same readiness conversation. And i think this was an overt coast guard focused and there was a total person uptake, that is how you pay for this to the taxpayer. We werent part of that conversation, so we have been about, this a, nine year, flat detrimental trajectory. Versus education, and talking about, we are a armed force, we have the same challenges training, recruitment, those things that we talked about already we do about a billion dollars of work and support of the geographic on an annual basis with the same week at, no cost of living adjustment and it goes back every year. Were trying to have the appropriate conversations inside the administrations, across the river of the pentagon with military leadership and im not trying to say that we have a fix on that but its what they call a non emergency fund. Its technical jargon but if we could close that gap i think that would really advance the discussion. On capitol hill, i think our messaging has been exactly what we are, seeing 20 budget and a congressional stage. We have not seen that yet but i think some of the markups show some sensitivity or awareness of what we are asking for and really about those dollars to help us deliver frontline services. I think its the for your focus on this readiness crusade here. Im going to get to all around the world so it may be an entry point into it but, modernization, can you talk a little bit about the Modernization Priority for the coast guard, part of which i know what youve already achieved. On an organizational standpoint we will continue to make some changes and keep your personal and you can always get things 100 percent right, so we are trying to, and terms of platforms the centric modernization we will build, but they are just a little bit success. I was looking, we have National Security adviser and the coast guard cutter, with all of the National Security cutter, does doing great things to support adam world davis for the dprk, whether thats partnering with the philippines, or strong kings, to the enemies, whether its putting a different face on the south china sees, a little bit of the challenge that off our patrol, we were awarded and we have the shipbuilding group, a very devastating category five hurricane that hit them last year in october. We just work through a process here, secretary signed off, thats going to go on capitol hill for about 60 days here, but theres a way forward here. We think they will remain viable, but also allow us so the real reason for, this its sort of a federal acquisitions, but we think there is a national compelling urgency on fielding it, that 70 for our entire fleet that those counter drug sober in the thick of that now and we will build waterways. On that piece, how much of a delay do you have to participate in the fielding . Consuming this, i think we cut that the lay down on the first and about 12 months. Had begun with a fall we compete we would have more, so this gives us a chance to give us to be successful and can get down to the table. Then if that does not go quite as well, we have another pathway to getting shifts. Polar security, we have aviation they are incredibly capable, more so with more power and will put them up in the coming year. We fly helicopters more than anybody else flies, the coast guard version, we will take aircrafts and are done with them. We actually bring them down and get another hours on those. We follow that but we cant he held hostage to a way forward, to thats a lot of things going on, we feel that, but in late 20, 21 to support our work over there. Has the story been well received on capitol hill . I think so. I think you take the National Security any show its ability to be a national the player. I think thats great support from the seventh fleet. You look at that same now, weve had that cut are up there below, the Arctic Circle and on the french so its the most extreme weather. I think that return on investment is pretty visible pretty quickly. Lets talk about now geographically. Starting in east asia. So much of how the china talented is committing a sweet spot for the United States coast guard, its using its own coast guard, its using Fishing Vessels that are really part of a state based force. The last time you were here, you talked about the putting a request for coast guard. He put out the degree to which you are tied operationally to supporting those demands. How do you see the coast guard a role, both specifically in the asiapacific realm but maybe more generally around the state based major challenge that are using gray zones. From a resources standpoint, six are on the wall here and excited about getting them off. I think we bring something you need there, were an organization, when you see the coast guard, you see that iconic racing stripe, it stands for model military government. They mimic that with the blue stripe but were not running down, i think will bring the modern government and the rules based. Were helping vietnam, they are building up their maritime service, you look at the sri lankans, and to sri lanka. Its part of the building block, and we are doing things. We sent to hundred 25, that is a human interaction. Theyre concerned about reports of the fish we want, to partner with the australians, the new zealanders, china looks around the entire swath of the western pacific and has different designs, i think we have that human to him an alternative, its operation family i think you see a lot more of that, when i talked last year when they were in the, we will put three new they demonstrated the ability to send patrol boats 2500 miles and thats a really potent practice, it really serves the medium in partnership. Im really excited about. That have you prioritize, what is the process that you are using. You have limited as you said, you have limited resources, coast guard capabilities are in high demand, coast guard does have the Law Enforcement ability to not look like a big u. S. Defense expert. What are you doing to try and make sure you are hitting the highest priority . The d. O. T. , through the Global Resource are processing those. What weve done a little bit in his path in the past we push resources out of the areas and built that. Because of the choices, we are the biggest return on investment for the nation, where those returns on the coast guard . I think the counter admission is a campaign that will go on forever. Ill tell, you there are 70,000 plus deaths related to truckload of violence and corruption. Look at what goes on in the southwest border and that is fueled by the cocaine that comes out of the indian ridge that makes landfall in panama. I think thats important but what can we do, we still need domestic fisheries, there is a lot of demand, so we are taking more of an enterprise, a global view. That is taking a little more Senior Leader dialog. I want to end up at the arctic with this question but beginning with the navy stand up or reestablishment. Has that changed how they are enabling in the atlantic. We have been very deeply invested and a lot of things. We have japan china, russia, the difference stakeholders they were a little bit atrophied over the years. Arising and reemerging russias. You look at whats going on here and theres absolutely a coast guard. We look at the kind of denmarks relationship from a security standpoint. Greenland economy, when you rolled up the 600 million that comes up, their economy, when you take out the greenland, its almost 95 . That has the kingdom concerned so we are looking to the atlantic. We have been very last of forces. Denmark, norway, the other numbers are authentic based. The high latitudes to the atlantic, really energizing our partnerships, witnessing those lines. You have a new Arctic Strategy out, and you describe for folks the major thrust and effort that the coast guard is pursuing that firms up its role in the arctic. We talk about the arctic as an emergent, we know what the arctic is a lot about mueller other trying to figure out how to operate, how to protect and why are we out there . Its a competitive space. They are really going to outpace us, icebreaking ships by, their what they call a self they really took the wind out of that. Theres no such thing as a self declared state. As i have studied this, day or getting that first breaker, we will talk about that. What are those other enablers, theres very little communication,. Doing Research Work face off the great, show some basic communication of that but the work of that ship really suffers. Theres no connectivity, no and we have some different in terms of how to get those. Its about building partnerships. You have to indigenous people, there so you have to be cognizant of partnering there. Many visit to the other side of the world where the disputed, any look at what russia is doing their. Russias tripling that in terms of their icebreaker investment and they are looking at the ships out of asia. That could be pretty lucrative and they may be part of that. Who has the ships to point into that. Its an our european partnership, the type of possibility a little bit of, we are looking at how to push out of that. There is the Perfect Place to highlight air yes where they can witness the satellites. You can imagine 3d printing. How much is the coast guard thinking of those aspects of how modern isis . We have to find ourselves in the early years, which was under the banner. From the escape of our budget, we belong, thats probably the sweet spot, but its modest, but we are looking at those kinds of things. You take that counter judge admission we are trying to surveil the eastern Pacific Ocean which you have the entire its equivalent of north america, five or six police cars out of columbus, you have to break their. We feel that the small systems on our National Security center, we havent seen them all yet but by the end of next, year every National Security adviser will be in the santa nadler. For counter drug, were doing, counter we came from the Un General Assembly a few weeks ago. Under authorities we actually did some prototype in our technologies on the waterfront and had a few uas us counter them there. I think theres a leadership role for the coast guard, so we absolutely have to look at embracing technology, and pace it a little bit with the scope of our budget and our limitations, said we look at what others are doing and bring something that can fly consistently, had we bring that into the military framework or coast guard framework . I want to make sure there is time for questions, or ask one more general topic area, which is not a small one its the homeland piece. Youve described the coast guard role there is no shortage of controversy over Border Control policy. Can you talk a little bit about how you see the coast guard role with regard to those issues . And if its changed at all in your tenure, so the last 18 months. If you think about the coast and defending the homeland, 90 of all the activity of these goods go through the ports, so we have a key role. We work with it, state and local interests but thats part of the player defence. You look at the border, illegal immigration you, have 60 mile stretch from the bahamas. We look at whats going, there we have people who go to puerto rico. If youre in puerto rico, if youre in new york. At the southwest border we have been supporting cpp and we think about the deception, that will go back 70 plus years. That was not easy. You think about 22 different agencies, but im pretty proud of our ability, weve had on average 150 people supporting the Border Control. Weve had we walked back votes on the rio grande river, weve had some helicopters fly in there, weve had folks doing support that allow Border Patrol agencies to be on the border with their authorities. We do some of that, before that number back to it so thats part of why t