Top Officials Deliberately Withheld Operation Fouled Anchor Findings from Congress
Former Coast Guard leaders intentionally concealed a five-year investigation into sexual assault allegations at the service’s academy, according to a Senate committee report released December 20, 2024. The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations found that Admiral Karl Schultz, then-Commandant, decided in 2018 to withhold information about Operation Fouled Anchor from Congress and the public. The investigation examined over 100 sexual assault allegations at the Coast Guard Academy spanning from the early 1990s to 2006. The findings follow similar conclusions the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability released last week.
5 Key Points
- Operation Fouled Anchor ran from 2014 to 2019, investigating sexual assault cases at the Coast Guard Academy.
- Leaders deliberately removed investigation references from congressional records.
- Officials drafted 17 versions of the final report, reducing it from 26 to 6 pages.
- Former Admiral Schultz claims he withheld information to protect victim privacy.
- More than 20 former cadets have filed formal sexual assault complaints.
Senate Investigation Reveals Deliberate Concealment Strategy
Internal Coast Guard documents revealed that Admiral Charles Ray, then-Vice Commandant, created a detailed pros and cons list for disclosure of Operation Fouled Anchor, demonstrating the calculated nature of the concealment. Ray’s handwritten notes listed “rip the band-aid off” and purging “cultural guilt” as potential benefits of disclosure. At the same time, his concerns about endless investigations and revictimization of survivors appeared on the opposing side. Coast Guard officials presented three distinct scenarios for handling the investigation to senior leadership, ultimately recommending discussion only if Congress specifically inquired about the matter. The officials explicitly advised against proactive congressional notification in their internal communications, warning it could trigger comprehensive investigations, hearings, and media attention that would be difficult to control. Documents obtained by the Senate subcommittee showed that officials worried explicitly about the investigation’s “colorful title” drawing unwanted attention if presented as a unified investigation rather than separate cases.
Operation Timeline and Scope Exposed
Operation Fouled Anchor examined more than 100 sexual assault allegations at the Coast Guard Academy between the early 1990s and 2006, revealing a pattern of institutional failure spanning more than a decade. The investigation, which ran from 2014 to 2019, uncovered numerous cases where the academy mishandled sexual assault and harassment complaints involving cadets, with some victims reporting their cases were dismissed or downplayed by academy leadership. Investigators discovered that some perpetrators avoided prosecution due to the academy’s actions, including instances where evidence was improperly handled, or witnesses were not interviewed. The findings remained hidden until media outlet CNN first exposed the investigation’s existence in 2023, prompting multiple government investigations and formal complaints from more than 20 former cadets who reported sexual assaults. Former academy students came forward following the revelation, describing a culture of silence and institutional protection that pervaded the campus during their time at the academy.
Document Manipulation and Congressional Obstruction
The Senate subcommittee discovered Coast Guard officials drafted 17 different versions of the Operation Fouled Anchor final report, with each revision appearing to remove crucial details about the scope and severity of the problems identified. The initial 26-page document detailed sexual assaults at the academy, including specific incidents and systemic failures in the institution’s response protocols, but the final version shrank to just six pages with significant omissions of these critical findings. The subcommittee accused Coast Guard leadership of impeding their investigation through multiple tactics, including failing to produce requested documents, applying aggressive redactions that obscured key information, and making erroneous privilege claims to withhold certain materials. When confronted with these accusations, the Coast Guard defended its actions by stating it had conducted an extensive review of more than 1.8 million pages of emails and complied with congressional requests “to the fullest extent.” Internal communications obtained by investigators revealed a pattern of deliberate document manipulation designed to minimize the appearance of systemic problems at the academy.
Leadership Response and Current Status
Former Commandant Schultz defended his 2018 decision to withhold the investigation from Congress in a recent CNN interview, maintaining that his primary motivation was protecting victim privacy rather than institutional reputation. He denied allegations of a cover-up and maintained no legal obligation existed to submit the investigation report to Congress. However, previous Coast Guard leaders told the subcommittee they had intended to disclose the operation’s findings. The Coast Guard issued a statement acknowledging the “unacceptable activities” described in the Senate report and claimed it “is working proactively to prevent and reduce these devastating crimes.” However, specific details about these preventive measures were not provided. The Senate subcommittee’s investigation continues, with Chairman Blumenthal demanding explanations for both the public and survivors, particularly regarding the decision-making process that led to the concealment of the inquiry. Documents revealed that Coast Guard leadership actively discussed strategies to minimize public and congressional awareness of the investigation’s scope and findings, raising questions about institutional accountability and transparency.
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