JANUARY 2016

WASHINGTON, D.C.

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

HUMAN CAPITAL 

STRATEGY

THE COMMANDANT

OF THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

It is my pleasure to present the Coast Guard Human Capital Strategy. The U.S. Coast Guard excels 

as a multi-mission, maritime service providing for the safety, security, and stewardship of the Nation’s 

waters. Excellence in mission execution relies on the Coast Guard’s greatest strength – our workforce. 

The demands of our operations require a resilient, capable workforce that draws upon the broad range 

of skills, talents, and experiences found in the American population. We must build and maintain 

a proficient, diverse, and adaptable workforce to respond to changing technology, an increasingly 

complex operating environment, and dynamic partnerships. We must prepare effective leaders who 

are locally based, nationally deployed, and globally connected. Every member of our Service must be 

responsible for cultivating a culture of respect and fostering a positive workplace climate to sustain 

mission excellence.

Increasingly, significant challenges in Coast Guard human capital management have been introduced 

through new strategic priorities, the need for technical and perishable skills, fiscal constraints, and 

changing workforce demographics. Our practices and foundational principles have not appreciably 

changed for many decades. Now is the time to develop and deploy new and innovative human capital 

management approaches to access, develop, sustain, and retain the Coast Guard workforce needed for 

complex, global missions.

The Human Capital Strategy sets a 10-year course to ensure that our functions and processes – including 

requirements, resource allocation, training, and human resource systems – work together to ensure a 

thriving and effective workforce prepared for the complexities of tomorrow. The Human Capital Strategy 

underscores the critical nature of unit-level leadership in developing the workforce of tomorrow. It also 

defines efforts critical to the resiliency and safety of our people. It ensures our processes deliver talented 

individuals, with the necessary training and performance support tools, ready to execute the mission. 

The Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty are ingrained in every member 

of our workforce. As this Strategy is implemented, we will ensure that we have the workforce critical 

for our Service to Nation, priorities that uphold our Duty to People, and focus that strengthens our 

Commitment to Excellence.

Semper Paratus.

Admiral Paul F. Zukunft

Commandant
THE U.S. COAST GUARD’S 

HUMAN CAPITAL VISION:

Providing an agile, flexible, and adaptive 

Human Capital System that ensures 

a thriving, proficient, and effective 

workforce for complex, global missions
Table of Contents

I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

VII.

VIII.

IX.

Introduction ............................................................... 2

Executive Summary .................................................... 4

Workforce Composition, Authorities, 

and Capabilities ............................................................ 8

Current Environment ................................................. 10

Strategic Priority 1: Meet MISSION Needs ............... 16 

Strategic Priority 2: Meet SERVICE Needs ................ 18 

Strategic Priority 3: Meet PEOPLE Needs ................. 24 

Ensuring Long-term Success ...................................... 28

Conclusion ................................................................ 32

Appendix ................................................................... 34

U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 2

I.

Introduction

For more than two centuries, the U.S. Coast Guard has performed increasingly complex missions 

in the most challenging marine environments. We protect those on the sea, protect the Nation from 

threats delivered by the sea, and protect the sea itself. Across the Coast Guard’s diverse mission set, on 

all our platforms and in every location, it is our people who get the job done.

Grounded in the Coast Guard’s core values of honor, respect, and devotion to duty, more than 

90,000 talented men and women perform and support Coast Guard missions day and night, at home 

and abroad. This Human Capital Strategy provides our people − the high-performing, motivated cadre 

of professionals − a system to develop the necessary leadership, expertise, and commitment for 

mission accomplishment.

Our missions, and support for those missions, drive our human capital requirements. The Coast 

Guard’s Western Hemisphere Strategy (September 2014), Arctic Strategy (May 2013), Cyber Strategy

(June 2015), and Energy Action Plan make clear that the scope of operations is changing and 

increasing, and the Service must continue to adjust to meet new requirements. To meet these 

changing mission demands, this Human Capital Strategy charts an ambitious course for evolving our 

competencies, qualifications, career paths, staffing and deployment capabilities, workplace climates, 

incentives, support systems, training programs, professional development, and leadership.

As missions evolve, the Coast Guard must also address externally driven workforce challenges. An 

increasingly competitive labor market, generational and demographic changes, and new personnel 

approaches across the Federal Government are changing the landscape. The cost of human capital 

is also driving the demand for new and innovative human capital management approaches. Human 

capital, in the form of military and civilian pay and allowances, consumes approximately 63 percent 

of the Coast Guard operating base. Our human capital system* must be agile, flexible, adaptive, and 

efficient to successfully attract, access, develop, retain, and reward a talented, diverse, and 

inclusive workforce.

The ultimate goal of the Coast Guard’s Human Capital Strategy is providing the right people, with the 

right competencies and experience, to the right place, at the right time in order to accomplish Coast 

Guard missions, while continually developing our workforce through superb leadership. To achieve 

this, we will focus on the following priorities:

•	 Meet MISSION Needs

•	 Meet SERVICE Needs

•	 Meet PEOPLE Needs

This Strategy is informed by research and guidance from the President, Department of Homeland 

Security (DHS), Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and Department of Defense (DOD). It 

applies to all elements of the Coast Guard’s multi-sector workforce: active duty and Reserve military, 

civil service, and our volunteers in the Auxiliary.
3 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 4

II.

Executive Summary

Many organizations assert that people are their most important resource, but for the U.S. Coast 

Guard, this part of our culture is the key to the Service’s success. Our cutters, boats, aircraft, 

facilities, and supporting systems do not accomplish the Coast Guard’s missions – people do. 

Coast Guard people serve the American public every day. Developing and maintaining our most 

important resource, human capital*, requires a comprehensive strategy.

Simply stated, human capital is our people and everything that they bring to the Coast Guard –

their knowledge, skills, and abilities; expertise and experience; and motivation, commitment, and 

leadership. Their continual development requires positive, reinforcing environments. 

The U.S. Coast Guard’s human capital vision has two dimensions that must work together. The 

stewards of the workforce must provide an agile, flexible, and adaptive Human Capital System. 

Coast Guard people must thrive and be proficient to meet increasingly complex missions, and 

to effectively serve the Nation. To achieve these ends, the Coast Guard’s Human Capital Strategy

emphasizes the following three strategic priorities:

Meet MISSION Needs: Coast Guard mission requirements set the demand for human 

capital. Requirements determine the size, shape, structure, and eventual cost of the workforce. 

To meet mission needs, we must ensure the Coast Guard has a force that can meet steady-state 

demands while simultaneously maintaining surge capacity for major incidents. Program managers 

are primarily responsible for workforce requirements. In both operations and mission support, 

they must define the workforce that they need to perform or support Coast Guard missions and 

advocate for their priorities in the resource process. Planning will also allow human performance* 

experts to design the training and performance support* systems for current and future needs. 

Appropriate competency* and specialty frameworks are also critical to meeting mission demands. 

Finally, we must bring oversight and attention to achieving and maintaining proficiency* to 

accomplish Coast Guard missions. Doing so will ensure a solid foundation for the future workforce 

and leaders required to meet tomorrow’s challenges.

Meet SERVICE Needs: Rooted in leadership, the foundation of Coast Guard effectiveness is 

the climate and performance of each unit. In partnership with human resource (HR) professionals, 

every supervisor and leader must take responsibility for developing the people in their charge. 

We must foster positive, cohesive, inclusive, and respectful workplace environments that value 

each element of the Coast Guard workforce – active duty, Reserve, civil service, and Auxiliary 

– augmented by our support contractors. Recruiting, retaining, and rewarding excellence are 

essential to meet the Service’s needs. We must value the importance of merit to reward positive 

performance and address areas that need improvement – at all levels. Finally, building the efficiency 

and effectiveness of our human resource system is essential. While we have taken many actions to 

advance our procedures and processes, ample opportunities exist to refine service delivery.

* Denotes first use of term in this strategy; term defined in the Appendix. 
5 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

Meet PEOPLE Needs: By cultivating the resiliency of our members and their families and 

nurturing the professional development of our Coast Guard workforce, we can optimize each 

person’s contributions to the Service. We will meet the needs of our people by providing a life cycle 

of support that enhances personal resiliency. Morale, well-being, and recreation (MWR) programs; 

employee assistance services; religious support services; work-life arrangements; and other support 

services all contribute to this process. Keeping our people safe and healthy is essential to meeting 

their personal needs, as well as Service needs; readiness of our personnel for duty depends on 

quality health care for them and their families. At the same time, all have a personal responsibility 

for safeguarding themselves, their families, and fellow workers from harm. Within a respectful 

environment that supports freedom of religion, faith has been shown to foster strength, character, 

and resiliency. For our people to keep pace in today’s rapidly changing environment, we must 

invest in career-long professional development and learning by providing opportunities that are 

relevant and rewarding, and ensure that the workforce can meet mission needs. Finally, we need 

to leverage incentive structures for tomorrow to motivate our employees to stay committed to the 

organization by compensating them adequately for the work that they perform and providing the 

appropriate level of developmental opportunities.
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 6

Ensuring Long-term Success. Seven foundational principles support our three strategic 

priorities and guide the management of the Coast Guard’s workforce; they are critical to the 

success of this Strategy. These priorities and principles include:

•	 Meet MISSION Needs:

o Efficiency and Proficiency: We will execute our responsibilities as wisely 

and efficiently as possible, sustaining personnel and unit readiness in 

support of achieving operational goals and missions.

o Requirements and Data-based Decisions: Our human resource system* 

will be responsive to the funded demand for personnel reflected in the 

Personnel Allowance List* (PAL).

•	 Meet SERVICE Needs:

o Diversity and Inclusion: We will attract, access, develop, and retain a 

respectful, diverse, and inclusive workforce that reflects the richness of 

our society.

o Equity and Opportunity: We will make human resource decisions in a fair 

and equitable manner, and always consider how we can create opportunities 

for professional growth in all segments of our workforce.

•	 Meet PEOPLE Needs:

o Predictability: We will strive to operate on the basis of stable and 

predictable opportunities that enable people to make better decisions in 

managing their careers.

o Professional Growth: We will value and support career aspirations and 

upward mobility for all military and civil servants of our workforce.

o Safety and Wellness: We will ensure that essential support services are 

provided for members, employees, and their families to build 

workforce resiliency. 

With the guidance of these foundational principles, the Coast Guard will move into the next 

decade aggressively pursuing our three strategic priorities. Their achievement is the responsibility 

of all Coast Guard program managers, supervisors, and leaders in partnership with the Coast 

Guard’s HR professionals. The Assistant Commandant for Human Resources (CG-1) and Force 

Readiness Command (FORCECOM), assisted by other workforce professionals, including the 

Civil Rights Directorate and Rating Force Master Chiefs, will coordinate and track efforts to 

ensure we are implementing those plans that meet mission needs, meet service needs, and meet 

our people needs!
7 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 8

III.

Workforce Composition, 

Authorities, and Capabilities

The Coast Guard workforce consists of active and Reserve military members and civil service 

employees, augmented by volunteers (the Coast Guard Auxiliary), and contractors. They are 

located in more than 185 locations both within and outside the United States. This multi-sector 

force includes approximately:

•	 6,714 active duty commissioned officers (including Permanent Commissioned Teaching

Staff, Band, and Reserve Program Administrators);

•	 1,725 active duty warrant officers;

•	 32,428 active duty enlisted men and women;

•	 7,200 officers and enlisted reservists;

•	 8,511 civil service employees;

•	 1,360 civilian non-appropriated funds* (NAF) employees; 

•	 30,057 uniformed volunteer members in the Coast Guard Auxiliary; and

•	 4,200 contract personnel with access to Coast Guard facilities and networks.

The full-time Coast Guard workforce of nearly 50,000 personnel is predominately military. Title 

10 and Title 14 of the U.S. Code specify that the Coast Guard is at all times a military service 

and a branch of the Armed Forces of the United States. Military discipline and training are 

critical to the Coast Guard’s national defense duties. Maritime security requires a breadth of 

expertise and skills—seamanship, diplomacy, legal and law enforcement expertise, and combat 

readiness. Military organizational structure and discipline serve the Coast Guard well in both war 

and peacetime duties, such as search-and-rescue operations and other large-scale response efforts. 

The Coast Guard is unique in that it offers this combination of law enforcement and military 

capabilities, together with the legal authorities to carry them out. 

Each workforce component has unique characteristics, capabilities, and experience that ultimately 

result in mission performance. The civil service component performs inherently governmental 

activities and provides continuity where needed. Two other components augment the Coast Guard 

workforce and fill critical roles. The Coast Guard Auxiliary consists of volunteers who provide 

temporary, full-time and part-time work for augmentation and contingency response. Contractors 

provide specialized skills that are “commercial activities” (neither inherently governmental nor 

military-essential) in support of Coast Guard operations. 
9 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 10

IV.

Current Environment

Throughout its dynamic operating environment and across its missions, the Coast Guard 

depends on its greatest strength—its workforce. Changing mission areas and increased demand 

in the maritime sector must be met through changing emphases in the workforce. Labor markets, 

the demographics of the United States, and approaches to human capital management are 

changing at the same time as our missions change and transform. To thrive in the future, the 

Coast Guard’s workforce and its approaches to human capital management must also continue to 

evolve and advance. 

Changing Mission Demands

The Coast Guard has developed a series of regional and functional strategies to address these 

evolving maritime challenges and threats. The Western Hemisphere Strategy, Arctic Strategy, 

Cyber Strategy, and the Energy Action Plan explain how the Coast Guard will adapt to perform 

its missions and safeguard the Nation’s commerce and infrastructure in these rapidly changing 

operating domains. In keeping with the Coast Guard’s long-standing ability to meet new mission 

demands, the implementation of these strategies will require continuous evaluation of overall 

human capital requirements. 

Arctic 

The Coast Guard’s Arctic Strategy (May 2013) provides goals of improved 

awareness, modernized governance, and broadened partnerships in order 

to ensure safe, secure, and environmentally responsible maritime activity 

in the Arctic. Human capital implications include ensuring competency 

and proficiency in the unique Arctic environment. This requires regular 

analysis to determine the competencies needed and human capital 

requirements for both operations and support/logistics.

Western Hemisphere 

The Western Hemisphere Strategy (September 2014) provides goals to 

confront challenges in this prominent geographic theater of operations. 

Its three priorities are combating transnational organized crime 

networks, securing borders, and safeguarding commerce. Human 

capital implications include fulfilling the demand for foreign language 

competencies, supporting surge staffing or deployable unit needs, 

delivering the specialized training needed to operate our capital assets, 

and increasing partnership abilities to enable cooperation with other 

nations and the interagency under the DHS Southern Border and 

Approaches Campaign Plan, DOD Joint Interagency Task Forces, and 

DHS Joint Task Forces.

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

ARCTIC STRATEGY

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

WESTERN

HEMISPHERE STRATEGY

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
11 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

Cyber

The Cyber Strategy (June 2015) provides goals to strengthen the cyber 

security of the Nation’s maritime domain and continue to develop a 

robust internal cyber security capability. Its three priorities are defending 

cyberspace, enabling operations, and protecting infrastructure. Objectives 

include defending the Coast Guard’s cyber terrain against all threats, 

including building a culture of security in cyberspace; maximizing 

cyberspace operational capabilities to facilitate mission execution; and 

protecting the maritime transportation system infrastructure. Human 

capital implications include developing new competencies, qualifications, 

and performance support; fulfilling personnel staffing requirements and 

analyzing the relationships between career fields; and ensuring viable 

career progression required to sustain proficiency.

North American Energy

The Energy Action Plan provides goals to ensure the maritime safety, 

security, and stewardship of increased American energy production and its 

transport. The plan focuses on three key capabilities: incident prevention, 

preparedness, and response. The way in which the Coast Guard performs 

its maritime safety and inspection functions must adjust in response to 

changing North American energy markets. The Coast Guard must have the 

flexibility to nimbly shift proficient inspectors as energy markets fluctuate. 

Increased domestic energy production will create a larger demand for all 

services on the waterways to include safety and law enforcement as well 

as the expanded inspections role. Human capital implications include 

properly staffing marine inspection units, maintaining marine inspector 

proficiency and the expertise needed to improve regulatory frameworks, 

and increasing flexibility in marine inspector assignments and position 

locations, while ensuring adequate career progression opportunities.

Labor Market

As mission requirements are changing to meet risks in today’s global environment, talent pools 

for human capital are changing, as well. A 2014 survey showed that less than seven percent of 

19-year-olds would “definitely” or “probably” affiliate with the military. When combined with 

military entry criteria, only 1 in 30 have the qualifications (physical, educational, and other) 

combined with a propensity to serve. The competition for this talent will continue to 

be significant.

Active duty military recruiting focuses on entry-level men and women, while Reserve recruiting 

and civil service hiring largely focuses on those with work experience. Generational changes are 

affecting applicant pools for all parts of the labor market. The “millennial” generation is becoming 

the largest labor force. Many are technologically connected and innovative, and have invested in 

their own education. The millennial generation is also more racially and ethnically diverse than 

any other generation in the post-WWII era, and it is imperative that the Coast Guard access the 

richness of talent across the society it serves. While current research shows that they stay with 

their employers longer than "generation X," the long-term changes in generational outlook and 

employment behavior are still unclear. 

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UNITED STATES COAST GUARD ✯ ✯ ✯ ✯

CYBER STRATEGY

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD

NORTH AMERICAN

ENERGY

✯ ✯ ✯ ✯
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 12

The average Coast Guard military member is 

in their early thirties; part of the millennial 

generation, while the average civilian employee 

is in their early fifties (generation X/baby 

boomer). Generational change also has impact 

on the workplace, as leaders must consider the 

differences between these generational outlooks.

Changing Workforce Environment

The Coast Guard’s workforce environment 

is also shifting as approaches for personnel 

management evolve at the DOD, OMB, and 

DHS. In 2015, the DOD Under Secretary for 

Personnel and Readiness published a draft Force 

of the Future report, which outlines how the 

DOD must evolve its personnel system to keep 

pace with increasing demands and the private 

sector. Congress has approved a new blended 

military retirement plan that will go into effect 

1 January 2018 and DOD is also considering 

other changes to military force management 

policies, some of which would require associated 

legislative changes. As one of the Nation’s five 

Armed Forces, the Coast Guard aims for parity 

with the DOD and must carefully evaluate the 

changing DOD policies for applicability to our 

Service.

The OMB recently noted multiple efforts 

underway to address Federal workforce 

challenges. These include expanding missionfocused, data-driven personnel management 

systems, creating a culture of excellence and 

engagement to enable performance, hiring 

the best talent from all segments of society, 

increasing family-friendly workplace policies, 

closing skill gaps, and informing our work with 

diverse perspectives.

The Department of Homeland Security 2014-

2018 Strategic Plan includes goals linked 

to maturing and strengthening DHS. A 

top priority is to “Recruit, hire, retain, and 

develop a highly qualified, diverse, effective, 

mission-focused, and resilient workforce.” 

The Department has also issued a Human 

Capital Strategic Plan 2015-2019. Its four goals 

include: (1) providing human capital strategies to 

successfully achieve the DHS mission and mitigate 
13 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

risks; (2) acquiring a highly qualified and diverse workforce; (3) fostering a departmental culture of 

excellence through inclusion and engagement; and (4) achieving HR operational excellence. 

The Coast Guard remains vigilant in attending to new workforce challenges. To address rapidly 

changing mission sets, we must ensure coordinated effort between program and workforce 

managers within the human resource (HR) system. In addition, the HR system must continue 

to monitor and respond to the enhancements implemented by DOD, OMB, DHS, and the 

Congress.

Human Capital Governance

The workforce operates within an overall human capital system that includes mission and 

performance planning, the resource system*, and the HR system. Figure 1 provides a simplified 

view of the system. The “billet” lane shows the high-level processes that place a position on the 

personnel allowance list. The “person” lane, largely controlled by the HR system, shows the 

high-level processes that match and assign a person to a billet. Human capital governance and 

processes contain numerous complexities and feedback loops (not shown in figure 1 for clarity). 

For example, the tasks performed by the workforce and the equipment that people use are strong 

inputs for Coast Guard-wide performance planning, long-term requirements generation, and 

standards and curricula designed to build proficiency. 
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 14

The overall demand for people is specified in the personnel allowance list. The PAL is a listing, by 

unit, of the Coast Guard workers allocated (billets) at a location. Positions on the PAL are based 

on workload and available funding, optimally with the workload analyzed in partnership between 

the unit’s program manager at Headquarters and the Manpower Requirements Determination 

(MRD) experts. Resource Management Offices* (RMO or -8 shops) throughout the Coast 

Guard are also involved, since each position represents a portion of the Coast Guard’s overall 

pay, benefits, and developmental costs. These expenses total 63 percent of the Coast Guard's 

operating budget. 

In addition to the quantity and type of personnel, training and performance support needs are 

analyzed by Human Performance Technology (HPT) experts in FORCECOM. Based on mission 

requirements, doctrine, and policy, HPT experts provide tools to support performance, training 

design, and instructional standards, and recommend ways to close policy gaps – all geared to 

meet mission requirements.

The HR system controls many of the processes that lead to the assignment (for military) or the 

hiring (for civil servants) of an individual to a billet. Military members are recruited and trained 

by centralized units; however, their proficiency and professional development are overseen 

by their supervisors. In this way, their growth is strongly influenced by their local supervisor 

and chain of command. Military members are assigned to specific positions by the Personnel 

Service Center as guided by Headquarters policy, while civil servants are selected for positions 

by selecting officials, based on skills, knowledge, and abilities, with guidance from the Office of 

Personnel Management classification standards and the Civilian Personnel Office. Like military, 

their growth is heavily influenced by their supervisor. 

Figure 1. The Coast Guard Human Capital System
15 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 16

V.

Strategic Priority 1:

Meet MISSION Needs

Our human capital framework depends on a listing of funded requirements. Program managers 

and the resource system have a major role in controlling this requirement set, with the HR 

system taking an essential role. Requirements set the demand for people with the right 

knowledge, skills, and abilities in the right locations to perform Coast Guard missions. The 

aggregate of these unit-level requirements determines the actual size, shape, structure, and 

eventual cost of the workforce. 

The following objectives for this strategic priority will strengthen the Coast Guard’s ability to use 

informed analysis – linked to mission requirements – to ensure its workforce has the capability 

and capacity to execute missions for the Nation it serves.

Objective 1.1. Alignment between the force planning construct and human

capital planning.

The Commandant’s Strategic Intent calls for an overall force that can meet steady-state demands 

while simultaneously maintaining surge capacity for major incidents. These incidents include 

hurricanes, mass migration, pollution, and other major surge operations. The force planning 

construct will use scenarios to model and simulate the Coast Guard’s ability to respond to 

simultaneous missions to inform the development of the force structures and personnel 

strength required.

The force planning construct is designed to anticipate human capital, workforce, equipment, 

assets, and training requirements as well as the right mix and location of each. It considers both 

contingencies and steady-state mission efforts, using prioritized potential incidents and events 

to which the Coast Guard would be required to respond. In addition, the construct defines 

and manages risk, based in part on today’s uncertain resource environment. As a set of highorder requirements, this construct will determine the overall force size and required capabilities 

for missions. Human capital planners must be able to translate these capabilities into the 

competencies required for the workforce.

Objective 1.2. Responsive human capital requirements systems and processes.

Program (mission) planners in both operations and mission support must define their 

requirements and advocate for their priorities in the resource process. Human capital planners 

must help by defining how to specify those requirements in a way that can be sustained by 

the HR system. Planners must also assess how performance tools, such as training; tactics, 

techniques, and procedures (TTP); and other aids, can assist in reaching the desired objectives. 

When an adjustment to personnel strength or competencies is necessary, the MRD process is the 
17 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

primary tool used by planners to define the human capital required to accomplish the mission. In 

both today’s steady-state missions and in future mission areas, human capital planners partner with 

program managers to determine: the work, competencies, training, and experience required; a unit’s 

overall workload and the appropriate personnel to meet the mission; and, for major acquisitions 

or mission shifts, the workforce pyramid and relationships necessary to sustain the required skills 

and competencies. These complex factors are analyzed based on the mission requirements of the 

organization, rating, or initiative and are based on a stated level or standard of performance.

Under the leadership of the HR Capabilities Staff (CG-1B), MRD provides a summary of the 

number and characteristics of workers needed to accomplish each requirement. FORCECOM 

develops the needed training and analyzes the relationship with other factors influencing human 

performance. The HR system provides these results to mission planners and program managers who 

can assess inherent risk, if funding levels demand alternative approaches.

Objective 1.3. Appropriate competency/specialty frameworks.

The Service’s Human Capital System must adjust to changing labor markets, expanding mission 

sets, and a changing workforce. Program and workforce managers, partnering with human capital 

planners, should use existing competency structures to assess the commonality between new 

requirements and existing workforce skills. This foundation will allow the Service to evaluate the 

optimal path from today’s workforce and its skill sets to the workforce of the future. It will also 

balance steady-state mission demands with new challenges and contingency needs. 

Key enablers for this objective are the well-established enlisted rating review process as well as the 

maturing Officer Specialty Management System. Systematic training and needs assessment methods 

are in place for the entire workforce, founded on on-the-job performance needs. The civilian 

workforce system will continue to rely on standards set by the Office of Personnel Management.

Objective 1.4. Build workforce proficiency.

Oversight and attention to improving proficiency will ensure a solid foundation for today’s missions 

and is essential to building the force required to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Proficiency begins 

with each service member and civil servant’s accession/on boarding, rating/specialty selection, and 

professional milestone training. Proficiency is built and sharpened with attainment of the needed 

qualifications and certifications, by gaining further knowledge and honing skills through experience. 

The self-discipline and drive of each individual leads to excellence at the unit level, and is the 

backbone of the Coast Guard's ability to carry out its demanding missions. 

We will continue to develop a forward‐looking human capital system with resources, road maps, 

and incentives that set clear proficiency standards for career fields. Ongoing initiatives by DOD, 

OPM, and DHS will inform the process, and a partnership between the resource system and 

program managers is essential. We will continue to provide clear links to professional and leadership 

development that ultimately lead to improved mission performance and efficiency. 
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 18

VI.

Strategic Priority 2:

Meet SERVICE Needs

Rooted in leadership, the foundations of Coast Guard effectiveness are the climate and 

performance of each unit. Over the next 10 years, the ability to lead in uncertain environments 

and complex contingencies, and build governmental unity of effort through intergovernmental or 

interagency partnerships will be increasingly important. 

Developing their people is a principal responsibility of every leader and supervisor. The HR system 

provides them a cadre of people intended to carry out their unit’s mission. Their people must be 

built into an effective team at the unit level, and training delivered by centers must be reinforced, 

as well. Their teams provide rich differences in backgrounds, perspectives, attributes, and 

experience both within and outside of the Coast Guard. The Reserve component, in particular, 

brings valuable skills gained in the broader community. To meet the challenges of multiple and 

ever-changing missions, leaders must ensure that they positively build on these differences. The 

Coast Guard has recognized for decades that mission accomplishment requires recruiting, hiring, 

and retaining a diverse workforce. This is essential to attract and retain the full range of talent 

available in the Nation. 

The context of this strategic priority is broader than the traditional use of the term “service needs,” 

which is most often associated with the military assignment process. It includes a focus on the 

effectiveness of the HR system at all levels: Headquarters, major commands, service centers, and 

training centers. The HR system is responsible for equipping each unit with the trained and ready 

men and women required for unit performance. 

Objective 2.1. Competency in leadership as a human capital requirement.

The importance of leadership in the Coast Guard is woven throughout the seven principles of 

Coast Guard operations. Perhaps, the clearest statement is found under the Principle of On-Scene 

Initiative: “By exercising proficiency in leadership, commanders can be confident that the person 

on-scene will be proficient in craft and can be depended on to exercise disciplined initiative.” 

Proficiency in leadership is one of the anchors that define the Coast Guard man or woman. 

Leaders must uphold our core values, reflect character and integrity, and exercise their authority 

with a sense of accountability for their actions.

Leadership is taught and leaders are developed starting with accession points, at the Coast Guard 

Academy and our training centers. Proficiency in leadership must be viewed with the same rigor 

as the Service treats proficiency in other professional dimensions. The Coast Guard embeds 

leadership competencies into the requirements for advancement or selection for promotion, 

but does not explicitly note or retain that information beyond the performance reports. Service 

leadership principles are well stated in doctrine, enlisted advancement courses, and performance 

report standards. However, the Coast Guard must deploy products developed at the Leadership 
19 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

Development Center and the Academy’s James M. Loy Institute for Leadership across the Coast 

Guard so all workforce components can use them on the mess deck, in the wardroom and 

break room, and on the shop floor. We will advance a leadership development program with a 

framework and an appropriate assessment system. Competency structures must reflect the need 

for leadership at all levels in all communities.

Objective 2.2. Foster positive workplace environments.

The workplace environment of each Coast Guard unit contributes to mission effectiveness. The 

more cohesive, inclusive, and respectful the workplace, the greater each member or employee will 

contribute to the mission. In a positive workplace, the passion, pride, and professionalism of the 

team is apparent. Members are energized and engaged because they feel valued – these climates 

bring the Coast Guard core value of respect to life. As a result, they are better able to cope with 

high-pressure, challenging situations that are a regular part of Coast Guard operations. 

The Coast Guard must carefully develop plans, policies, and procedures that foster positive 

workplace environments. Recently, the Coast Guard published two strategic plans that support 

this effort. The Coast Guard’s Diversity and Inclusion Strategic Plan (July 2015) focuses effort to 

improve multi-cultural intelligence and inclusivity through three performance goals: attracting, 

recruiting, and retaining a high-performing diverse workforce; fostering a culture of respect; and 

preparing leaders to be accountable and responsible for refining their approaches to inclusion. 

The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (SAPR) Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2013-2017 aims 

to eliminate sexual assault in the Coast Guard by providing a strong culture through policy 

and procedures for prevention, education and training, response to assault, victim support, 

intimidation-free reporting, fair and impartial investigations, and accountability. For the civil 

service, the Annual EEO Program Status Report quantifies efforts to attain a well balanced and 

diverse civilian workforce and identifies areas for improvement. 

Each of these plans has their underpinnings in a series of surveys that the Coast Guard uses to 

examine workplace trends. The Defense Equal Opportunity Climate Survey (DEOCS) provides the 

unit commander with a non-attribution report on the climate of their unit. The Organizational 

Assessment Survey (OAS) is a government-wide survey that the Coast Guard has used since the late 

1990’s. This well-developed and consistent survey instrument allows comparison of trends that 

can be examined from the unit level to the entire Coast Guard. The Federal Employee Viewpoint 

Survey (FEVS) applies to civilian talent, and also compares the Coast Guard to other Government 

organizations. In addition, the Service has invested in human performance technology for 

decades. These assessment methods can examine a range of issues related to training, other 

performance interventions, climate, policy gaps, and other issues affecting performance. The Coast 

Guard will continue to leverage these assessment tools to evaluate workplace climates and evaluate 

the best ways to improve human performance in a dynamic mission environment. 

Objective 2.3. Excellence recruited, retained, and rewarded.

The same disciplined initiative that the Coast Guard applies to its operations must also extend 

to actions that build a positive command climate and contribute to the career aspirations of our 

military members and civilian employees. Feedback, coaching, and counseling must stress both 

positive performance and clearly identify areas for improvement. Evaluations must adhere to the 

Service standards articulated within them. 
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 20

At the Headquarters level, we will assess performance management reports (for officers and 

enlisted members, and civil servants) for their effectiveness in identifying the talents and potential 

in our workforce. This includes the role of credentials and certifications for special skills. In 

addition, a number of the military workforce flexibilities under consideration in the DOD aim to 

provide tools to retain specialized talent. The Coast Guard will carefully evaluate their application 

to our Service with consideration of our needs, size, and characteristics, and carefully weigh 

the attributes of the “up or out” paradigm of military service while considering the unintended 

consequences that could arise.

For the civilian workforce, retaining and rewarding excellence falls primarily on the employee’s 

supervisor, many of whom are military personnel. Credentials, certifications, and developmental 

opportunities are critical to civilian employee growth and must be supported throughout 

the leadership chain. We will develop a concept and structure for civilian workforce career 

development, including methods to be competitive in a new job series. We will include tools for 

leaders of civilians, both military and civil service, in this effort.

The excellence of our workforce also relies on "knowledge centers" within the Coast Guard. These 

staffs maintain and understand our assets and processes, and underpin our technical prowess 

in many mission areas, such as marine safety, engineering, acquisition, and response. The Force 

Readiness Command’s Performance Technology Center analyzes workforce needs and directly 

feeds updated rating standards, while the National Centers of Excellence support both the 

prevention and response missions. These centers promote training, performance support, and 

research, and develop a repository of information on particular missions and specialties. The 

mission support product and service lines own the configurations and engineering specifications 

for our cutters, aircraft, shore infrastructure, and electronics/information technology. We must 

ensure that they are appropriately staffed and recognized for the wide span of impact on our 

people and their proficiency.
21 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

Objective 2.4. An efficient and effective human resource system.

The mission of the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources (CG-1) is to “Meet the people 

needs of the Coast Guard while meeting the needs of Coast Guard people.” FORCECOM 

prepares the workforce through its training centers and assessment units. The FC mission is to, 

“Optimize human performance for premier mission execution through clear tactics, techniques, 

and procedures; relevant training; and quality assessments.” The Coast Guard Academy develops 

leaders of character. These organizations report to the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support. 

As part of continual organizational development, we will examine ways to refine the relationship 

and alignment between CG-1 and FORCECOM, with the goal of delivering mission-ready 

personnel. This includes reviewing subordinate command relationships, including recruiting, 

training, and assignment proccesses, as well as the integration essential to personnel management. 

The goal of this effort is to improve the delivery of integrated service based on the Mission Support 

Business Model and the overall enterprise architecture.

Civil service administrative processes are managed by the Office of Civilian Personnel 

(CG-121). Their personnel are distributed across the Coast Guard, and the office has embarked on 

a systematic process review to ensure that actions by centralized staffs and decisions by the hiring 

officials are synchronized and timely. This is a shared responsibility between CG-121 and leaders 

across the Coast Guard. Regular communication and reporting of applicable metrics to leadership, 

hiring officials, and customers are continuing efforts.

People entering the Service are either hired for their competencies and experience (civil service) or 

tested to determine aptitude (military). Civil servants are hired into positions for which they are 

qualified based on previous work experience and education, and are provided an orientation to the 

Coast Guard when hired. Military members undergo initial training or education (recruit training, 

officer candidate training, or education at the Coast Guard Academy) to attain basic qualifications, 

followed by assignment to positions commensurate with their skills. From that point on, a 

repeating cycle of assessment, advancement, promotion, training, qualification, and reassignment 

to positions of greater responsibility mark a career. Eventually, people are either discharged, 

released from active duty short of retirement, or retired. Some people, and/or their survivors, earn 

post-service benefits. A select number transfer to the Reserve and continue to serve.

As described earlier, missions and actions create requirements for work; after careful analysis, work 

requirements are converted into authorized positions at locations where people will be assigned. 

Positions have many characteristics that guide human capital management activities; the major ones 

are force (active duty or Reserve military, civil service, contractor, Auxiliary, NAF), grade, specialty, 

competencies, location, and required experience. Military members are assigned and reassigned 

to positions taking into account individual desires for personal and professional development, and 

family considerations, both to accomplish the work and to provide for continual development. 

Throughout all of this, whether for a short time or a career, people must be compensated, provided 

benefits and incentives, offered a healthy and safe workplace, be respected in their sincerely 

held personal beliefs, and allowed to find the right balance of work and family life – within 

an environment that promotes diversity and inclusion, and enables professional and personal 

development. 

All of this has a point: to ensure that people with the right skills will be ready, able, and willing to 

do the Coast Guard’s work – now and in the future.
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 22
23 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 24

VII.

Strategic Priority 3:

Meet PEOPLE Needs

Meeting the needs of our people is essential to mission success. Part of proficiency in leadership 

is to take responsibility for self and fellow crewmembers while accomplishing the mission. At 

the heart of the Coast Guard Ethos is the perspective that individual characteristics contribute 

to collective success. The results that the Coast Guard achieves for the Nation depend on the 

collective abilities of its people and their willingness to perform challenging duties. We enhance 

each person’s contributions to mission performance by cultivating their well-being and the wellbeing of their families, and fostering professional development.

While the Coast Guard workforce is primarily motivated by its missions, formal support 

systems play a critical motivational role. Supporting each employee’s desire for knowledge and 

improvement not only benefits our missions, it shows our workforce that we are committed to 

them as individuals. Our enduring commitment to the needs of our people sets us apart from 

other organizations – building the Coast Guard’s reputation as a positive organization, a Service of 

choice in the Armed Forces, and an employer of choice within the Federal government.

The term “Coast Guard family” is more than a slogan. It denotes the care and connection that 

the Service places in its people and their families, and the way in which Coast Guard men and 

women look out for one another in both good and challenging times. While about half the 

military members are located in 12 "hubs," the others are stationed at many small units located 

in more than 185 locations around the world, performing the mission every day. Most of our 

military members rotate from mission-related duties in one location to missions at another 

location, creating a strong demand for personal development and care concurrent with mission 

performance.

Objective 3.1. Resilient Personnel and Families.

Capable leaders and strong support programs contribute to team effectiveness. The Coast Guard 

depends on capable leaders to look out for those who are beside them and those in their charge, 

detect early signs of difficulty, and take positive action to support those in need. Positive action by 

leaders plays a large role in countering behaviors, such as substance abuse and other misconduct. 

Formal programs provide resources for military members and their families, and also for civil 

servants. These include work-life programs; religious support programs; and child development 

centers and subsidies. In addition, MWR programs; ombudsman programs; military housing; 

Coast Guard Mutual Assistance and the Coast Guard Foundation support the unique demands of 

Coast Guard service. Each of these resources enhances personal resiliency and contributes to the 

life cycle of support for our members. This life cycle of support continues after the end of one’s 
25 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

military status. Our retiree programs help connect military annuitants with current Coast Guard 

support programs. We will capture best practices across the organization and develop accessible 

enterprise-wide programs based on successes.

Objective 3.2. Safe and healthy workforce.

Personal readiness for demanding duties depends on quality health care. Due to the distributed 

nature of Coast Guard units, the Service depends less on organic clinics and more on TRICARE 

and DOD Military Treatment Facilities (MTFs) for both military members and their families. 

The Service will continue its efforts to make quality health care accessible to military members 

throughout the Service. 

The safety of our members and employees must never be compromised. As the Coast Guard 

continues to operate cutters that exceed their expected lifespan; inspect commercial facilities and 

ships; work in aging shore infrastructure; and conduct aviation missions in the most demanding 

environments, our safety programs must stay strong. All Coast Guard members have a personal 

responsibility for managing the risks associated with their individual activities, both on and off 

duty, in order to safeguard themselves, their families, and fellow workers from harm. This duty 

extends beyond safety programs to tactics, techniques, and procedures and safety consciousness in 

all aspects of work and life.

Objective 3.3. Career-long professional development and learning.

In today’s rapidly changing environment, the individual skills that are invaluable to the Service 

today may change in the future. To keep pace, we must treat continuous learning as an investment 

in mission success by ensuring that professional development activities are relevant, professionally 

rewarding, and linked to mission needs. By providing access to formal education, training, tuition 

assistance, career counseling, and mentoring programs, and encouraging self-directed learning, 

participation in professional organizations, and individual development planning, we will help our 

workforce continually develop their talent and renew their skill sets. 

In recent years, the Federal government has placed greater emphasis on professional credentialing, 

such as certifications in a number of professional fields. By encouraging and supporting programs 

leading to certification and licensure, we raise the professionalism of the workforce and ensure 

that our members are qualified to perform their jobs. Credentialing also supports the transition 

of our military members into civilian careers after they separate from the Service. Professional 

development must also include adequate opportunities for career advancement. This need links 

to the crafting of billet structures to foster sustainable career progression while never losing 

sight of sea/shore rotation goals. Our military members and civil servants should have a clear 

understanding of career paths for their specialties, have access to resources for available career 

opportunities, and trust that our promotion systems are fair and equitable. 

To assist each military member and civilian employee as they pursue knowledge, we must create 

an environment of learning across our organization. We must implement processes, tools, and 

organizational relationships that allow our workforce to share critical knowledge and work 

collaboratively across organizational boundaries. Programs, such as tuition assistance, provide a 

unique opportunity to pursue personal advancement and knowledge. The benefits of educational 

programs also provide new perspectives and open new avenues for career development. 

Opportunities to participate in cross-functional teams, details, and collaborative information 

and knowledge sharing all advance the Coast Guard’s learning environment and drive 

continuous improvement.
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 26

Objective 3.4. Incentive structures for tomorrow. 

The Coast Guard has used a combination of special pays and other non-pay incentives for its 

military members to gain volunteers for arduous duty and to compensate for the special demands 

of certain duty types. These include bonuses (enlistment, critical skills training, critical skills 

retention, and selective re-enlistment) and special pays (sea pay, flight pay, and hazardous duty 

pay). All bonuses and special pays are authorized in law, and tailored to the Coast Guard’s needs 

by policy and panels that set and adjust amounts based on Service needs. For example, sea pay was 

first tiered by unit type in 2001, and the Coast Guard has tailored bonuses to overall workforce 

needs for many decades.

The Coast Guard is already moving forward with focused incentives that recognize the need to 

target competencies, and also toward tailoring the overall environment to meet the demands of 

particularly arduous duty. Considerations include maximizing cutter sea time, while keeping in 

mind personnel tempo, deployment lengths, and maintenance needs. Increasingly, the Coast 

Guard is targeting incentives toward pay-grade ranges where they will have the most impact. 

Certain competencies are also targeted for bonuses recognizing the training and proficiency 

required for certain ratings. We expect the trend toward targeted incentives to continue over the 

next 10 years.

The incentive structures for civil servants differ from the military workforce. In addition to 

competitive pay and benefits for Federal employees, research shows that other variables are playing 

an increasing role in keeping employees satisfied, motivated, and committed to the organization. 

According to the Government Accountablity Office (GAO), work environments that offer flexible 

options such as telework and alternative work schedules; recognition for a job well done through 

monetary, non-monetary, and/or career enhancing incentives; and job rotation programs may be 

critical to reducing turnover and retaining a workforce capable of addressing future challenges.
27 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 28

VIII.

Ensuring Long-Term Success

Several foundational principles guide the management of the Coast Guard’s workforce, and are 

critical to the success of this Strategy. These principles create the lens through which we must view, 

plan, and execute all human capital management actions. They provide a foundation to ensure 

accountability and responsibility to our workforce (Duty to People), and likewise, the expectation 

of accountability and responsibility from the workforce back up the chain of command (Service to 

Nation). They are particularly important as the Coast Guard considers changes to human capital 

planning and management (Commitment to Excellence), since changes often risk unintended 

consequences.

With few exceptions, each principle applies equally to military and civil service, active duty and 

Reserve, officer and enlisted, and, in most cases, our Auxiliary. They will shape our strategic thinking 

and guide our efforts as we face the challenge to continually develop the Coast Guard workforce for 

complex global missions. 

A.	 Meet MISSION Needs:

(1)	 The Principle of Efficiency and Proficiency.

We recognize that we are stewards of America’s resources--its people, money, and natural 

environment--and maritime commerce and safety. We must execute our responsibilities 

as wisely and efficiently as possible, sustaining personnel and unit readiness in support of 

achieving operational goals and missions. 

Our military workforce performs the largest share of our missions. We should leverage 

opportunities to: increase proficiency and ensure sustainable expertise; select and assign 

personnel to maximize return on investments in training, education, and competencies; 

and provide members with the opportunity for geographic stability, by type and duration 

of assignment.

These opportunities must be carefully balanced with career progression requirements, 

fair and equitable assignment opportunities, and overall Service needs. We also must be 

innovative and push authority to appropriate levels.

For our civilian workforce, the need for proficiency is no less. We must provide our 

civilians with the training and professional development needed to perform their duties. 

In many cases, our civilians provide much needed continuity of specialized expertise and 

proficiency. Maintaining processes to develop this proficiency is important to our success.

(2)	 The Principle of Requirements and Data-based Decisions.

We operate a human capital management system driven by requirements. Mission 

performance standards create a need for activities, to which resources are applied (people, 

money, materials, assets, and time). The demand for human capital (numbers of people 

and their individual capabilities) is the signal to which the HR system responds.
29 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY

Requirements are not generated and determined by the people who work in HR; they are 

generated and determined by program managers, informed by operational commanders. 

All are an integral part of the human capital system. Analysis of facts, data, and stated 

assumptions influence decisions and policies. This information provides a degree of 

transparency and predictability that instills trust and produces better decisions in the 

Coast Guard’s and member's best interests, but the HR system must have flexibility to 

adjust to specific circumstances unique to each situation.

B.	 Meet SERVICE Needs:

(1)	 The Principle of Diversity and Inclusion.

We will access, develop, and sustain a diverse and inclusive workforce. People have 

individual characteristics that make them distinct from others, including age, language, 

culture, religion, race, ethnicity, gender, knowledge, competencies, talents, and 

perspectives. The more diverse the organization, the more it reflects the richness of our 

society, and the more resilient it will be as conditions and demand for services change.

(2)	 The Principle of Equity and Opportunity.

We will make all human capital policy and management decisions in a fair and equitable 

manner, and always consider opportunity. In a “needs of the Service”-based human capital 

system, every decision should be made so as to not disadvantage any person or group. 
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 30

C.	 Meet PEOPLE Needs:

(1)	 The Principle of Predictability.

People want to exercise control over their destinies. This is not always possible in a military 

organization; however a human capital system that strives to operate on the basis of stable 

and predictable flows enables people to make better decisions in managing their careers. 

People must trust that the Coast Guard applies all policies and practices with fairness and 

equity, based on merit.

(2)	 The Principle of Professional Growth.

People strive to be the best that they can be; when new members have the requisite 

knowledge and skills to be successful, productivity is enhanced and long-term job 

satisfaction is ensured. Our workforce management systems, tools, and military pyramids 

will value and support career aspirations and not only enable upward mobility, but expect 

it. By providing opportunities for professional and personal development, the Coast Guard 

will create and sustain a proficient workforce, and develop the expertise necessary to serve 

the long-term needs of the Service and the Nation.

(3)	 The Principle of Safety and Wellness.

We will ensure that a healthy, safe, and supportive environment is provided for members, 

employees, and their families. This serves our people, and, in doing so, creates confidence 

that leaders will have ready and resilient people when they need them.
31 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 32

IX.

Conclusion

The history of the Coast Guard is full of innovative responses to new demands and 

new conditions. Requirements, practices, and processes have changed frequently 

since 1790 under the press of emerging needs and shifting roles within the Federal 

Government. The current changes to Coast Guard missions are demanding, but this 

is not a new situation for our Service. Adapting to new missions and changes in focus 

have been a hallmark of Coast Guard history. The people of our Service have always 

modified their practices and relationships to carry out new tasks. They have done 

so through new ideas and new methods built upon the Coast Guard’s underlying 

"Semper Paratus" culture. The current focus will be met with similar resolve.

In this time of new demands, this Human Capital Strategy will be implemented 

through an annually reviewed plan, championed by the Assistant Commandant for 

Human Resources and the Force Readiness Command. Execution of this Strategy

extends beyond Headquarters. Leadership at all levels, Headquarters program 

managers, Resource Management Offices, and all layers of command must be engaged 

in building the readiness and potential of our people.

Our workforce is essential to meeting the call of our Nation in the maritime realm. 

Boats, cutters, aircraft, and facilities do not perform our missions by themselves. Our 

Coast Guard military personnel and civil servants, augmented by contractors and 

Auxiliary, perform in an exemplary way to execute Service missions. This Strategy

charts a course so that our Service and its extraordinary people continue to perform in 

the finest traditions of the world’s best Coast Guard.
33 U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
U.S. COAST GUARD HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY 34

Appendix

Selected Definitions

Competency: A collection of tasks with the associated 

knowledge, skills, abilities, and wherewithal (tools, 

methods, information, doctrine, procedures, materials, 

etc.) needed to perform the tasks to a predetermined, 

measurable, performance standard. The tasks are 

usually related as parts of a larger process in support of 

or contributing to the goals of the organization, unit, or 

work group. See Commandant Instruction M5300.2A. 

A shorter definition is found in M1500.10C. The 

job-related knowledge, skills, abilities, and personal 

attributes that a person exercises while performing the 

duties of any given position.

Human Capital: The Coast Guard’s workforce. 

This term includes their knowledge, skills, abilities, 

attitudes, expertise, experience, and leadership.

Human Capital System: This includes the Human 

Resource System plus program mangers who specify 

and advocate for workforce requirements. It also 

includes the Resource System in its work prioritizing 

personnel funding to the various requests from program 

managers. (See figure 1.)

Human Performance: Human Performance 

Technology is a careful and systematic approach to 

solving problems – or realizing opportunities – related 

to the performance of people, groups, or organizations. 

It results in solutions that improve a system in terms of 

achievement that the organization values. Based on the 

information gathered, we can determine what has to be 

changed in the system to achieve effective and efficient 

mission execution. 

Human Resource System: The elements that perform 

Human Resource functions for the Coast Guard. 

These activities include recruiting, hiring, training and 

education, providing pay and benefits, promotions, 

assignments, as well as separations and retirements. The 

system includes CG-1 and subordinate directors and 

units including the Personnel Service Center (PSC) 

and subordinate units; and the Health, Safety and 

Work-Life Service Center (HSWL). The system also 

includes FORCECOM and its subordinate units and 

training centers. Rating Force Master Chiefs (RFMC) 

are also part of the system in their activities supporting 

an enlisted rating.

Non-Appropriated Funds (NAF): Employees who are 

compensated by funds other than those appropriated 

by Congress. NAF employees are most frequent in the 

Coast Guard Exchange System and in Morale, Wellbeing, and Recreation activities at larger installations.

Performance Support: Performance Support 

interventions target shortcomings and/or problems 

with motivation, tools, and capacity, to enhance the 

entire Integrated Performance System, and provide a 

foundation of support for people to perform their jobs 

in an exemplary manner.

Personnel Allowance List (PAL): A database 

maintained by the Assistant Commandant for 

Resources (CG-8) listing the authorized and funded 

positions by grade, specialty, unit, location, and other 

attributes. A person can be provided to a unit by the 

HR system based on a PAL position.

Proficiency: A measurable, established level of skill 

or ability required for the competency attached to a 

specific position. This characteristic is assigned to 

a competency when it is attached to a position. See 

Commandant Instruction M5300.2A. Proficiency 

is often referred to using an apprentice, journeyman, 

master scale.

Resource System (RMO or -8 shops): Offices 

which administer Coast Guard personnel, operating, 

and other appropriated funds. A position on PAL 

accounts for a portion of the overall workforce 

funding. Funding attributable to a position includes 

pay (civilian and military), medical, military rotation, 

and other support costs. Resource Management Offices 

(RMO) are established within the Area Commands, 

Deputy Commandant for Operations, and Deputy 

Commandant for Mission Support organizations.
U.S. COAST GUARD HEADQUARTERS

WASHINGTON, D.C.

www.uscg.mil