In 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard instituted a policy stating that divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited, explicitly including a noose, a swastika, and symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.
November 21, 2025
high
temporal
Summarizes the Coast Guard's 2025 policy position banning divisive or hate symbols and flags.
The U.S. Coast Guard has maintained a long-standing prohibition on publicly displaying the Confederate flag except in limited contexts such as educational or historical settings.
November 21, 2025
high
temporal
Describes the Coast Guard's enduring policy limiting public display of the Confederate flag to specific contexts.
Modernization of maritime interdiction assets (for example, upgraded cutters), tighter integration with intelligence agencies, and the use of autonomous surveillance tools are associated with increased success in intercepting long-range maritime drug shipments.
November 20, 2025
high
temporal
Factors cited as improving maritime drug interdiction effectiveness.
As of 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard prohibits the display of divisive or hate symbols and flags, explicitly listing a noose and a swastika and banning any symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.
November 20, 2025
high
policy
Describes the content of a U.S. Coast Guard organizational policy on prohibited symbols.
A 2025 U.S. Coast Guard policy declared that 'divisive or hate symbols and flags are prohibited' and explicitly listed examples including a noose, a swastika, and symbols or flags co-opted or adopted by hate-based groups.
November 20, 2025
high
temporal
Content description of the U.S. Coast Guard's 2025 policy on prohibited symbols.
U.S. Coast Guard policy prohibits the public display of the Confederate flag except in certain contexts such as educational or historical settings.
November 20, 2025
high
temporal
Long-standing provision in Coast Guard policies addressing public display of the Confederate flag.
The recent U.S. Coast Guard policy memo instructs supervisors to 'inquire' into incidents involving hate symbols rather than directing supervisors to conduct formal investigations, which differs from the investigative approach reflected in the Coast Guard's 2019 and 2023 policies.
November 20, 2025
high
temporal
Compares procedural language in the Coast Guard's newer memo to earlier policy guidance regarding how commanders should handle hate-symbol incidents.
The U.S. Coast Guard has conducted drug interdiction operations in the Caribbean for many years.
October 27, 2025
high
temporal
Longstanding maritime law-enforcement operations targeting drug trafficking routes in the Caribbean.
Coast Guard Island is owned by the federal government and is not open to the general public; escorts or specific government identification cards are required for visitors.
October 23, 2025
high
operational
Access to the federal Coast Guard base on Coast Guard Island is restricted and controlled.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security oversees U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the U.S. Coast Guard.
October 22, 2025
high
organizational
Describes the organizational relationship among federal agencies responsible for immigration enforcement and maritime security.
U.S. federal agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Coast Guard conduct arrests and removals of noncitizens.
October 21, 2025
high
organizational
ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Coast Guard are principal federal agencies involved in immigration enforcement actions such as arrests and removals.
The U.S. Coast Guard sometimes destroys or burns vessels seized during maritime drug interdictions after removing narcotics and detaining occupants to prevent the seized boats from becoming hazards to other mariners.
October 15, 2025
high
operational
Describes a recurring Coast Guard practice used after interdictions to mitigate navigational hazards from seized smuggling vessels.
The U.S. Coast Guard conducts maritime counter-narcotics operations by deploying ships, aircraft, and tactical teams and by collaborating with international partners to interdict vessels transporting drugs from Central and South America.
October 15, 2025
high
operational
General description of assets and international collaboration used in maritime drug interdiction efforts targeting trafficking routes from Central and South America.
A 2025 NTSB report recommended that the U.S. Coast Guard commission a panel of experts to study submersibles and other pressure vessels intended for human occupancy, implement regulations for those vehicles informed by that study, and disseminate the study findings to the industry.
October 15, 2025
high
temporal
Policy recommendation by the NTSB intended to inform regulation and industry practices for human-occupied submersibles and pressure vessels.
The U.S. Coast Guard traditionally intercepts vessels at sea, confiscates illegal drugs, and takes suspected drug traffickers into custody to face criminal charges.
October 08, 2025
high
institutional
Describes standard U.S. maritime drug interdiction practice.
As of October 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that Operation Pacific Viper had confiscated about 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the Eastern Pacific since August 2025, averaging approximately 1,600 pounds per day.
October 01, 2025
high
temporal
Operational seizure totals and daily average reported for a joint interdiction effort in the Eastern Pacific.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported seizing almost 510,000 pounds of cocaine in fiscal year 2025, the largest amount in the service's history.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Annual seizure total reported by the U.S. Coast Guard for fiscal year 2025.
The U.S. Coast Guard reported that the nearly 510,000 pounds of cocaine seized in fiscal year 2025 equated to approximately 193 million potentially lethal doses.
September 30, 2025
high
temporal
Conversion of total weight of seized cocaine into estimated number of potentially lethal doses.
The U.S. Coast Guard policy prohibits the display of symbols such as swastikas, nooses, and the Confederate battle flag, treating such symbols as extremist or racist imagery subject to investigation and disciplinary action.
March 16, 2025
high
policy
Workplace conduct and prohibited symbols policy
A 2025 U.S. Coast Guard policy update removed the term "hate incident" from official policy and states that conduct previously handled as a "potential hate incident" will be processed as a harassment report only when there is an identified aggrieved individual.
March 16, 2025
high
policy_change
Harassment reporting procedures
U.S. Coast Guard guidance reclassifies symbols previously labeled as "potential hate incidents" as "potentially divisive symbols and flags" and authorizes commanding officers to inquire about and order removal of publicly displayed potentially divisive symbols that negatively affect morale or mission readiness.
March 16, 2025
high
policy
Authority of leaders to address divisive symbols in workplaces and facilities
The U.S. Coast Guard's long-term annual average cocaine seizure amount is roughly 167,000 pounds per year.
January 01, 2025
high
temporal
Baseline annual average used for comparing the 2025 seizure total.
In 2019 and 2023, U.S. Coast Guard policies described displays of symbols such as swastikas and nooses as 'widely identified with oppression or hatred' and characterized their display as a 'potential hate incident'.
January 01, 2023
high
temporal
Describes the characterization of hate symbols in prior Coast Guard policy guidance.
A 2019 U.S. Coast Guard policy described symbols such as swastikas and nooses as "widely identified with oppression or hatred" and characterized their display as a potential hate incident.
January 01, 2019
high
policy
Describes the characterization of certain symbols in the Coast Guard's 2019 policy.
A 2019 U.S. Coast Guard policy stated that symbols such as swastikas and nooses were 'widely identified with oppression or hatred' and characterized their display as 'a potential hate incident'.
January 01, 2019
high
temporal
Content description of the U.S. Coast Guard's 2019 policy on hate symbols.
A 2016 U.S. Coast Guard document states that Coast Guard Island is federally owned and restricts visits by the general public without an escort or specific government identification.
January 01, 2016
high
temporal
Access and ownership restrictions as described in an official Coast Guard document.
The U.S. Coast Guard describes national security cutters as approximately 418 feet long and 54 feet wide, with top speeds over 28 knots, a range of about 12,000 nautical miles, endurance up to 90 days, and capacity for crews of up to about 170 personnel.
January 01, 2016
high
temporal
Technical and operational characteristics of U.S. Coast Guard national security cutters.
In February 2012 the U.S. Coast Guard established Base Alameda on Coast Guard Island by consolidating several existing Coast Guard operations into a single base.
February 01, 2012
high
temporal
Organizational history regarding the establishment of the current Coast Guard base on the island.
A 1937 U.S. Navy analysis using Lockheed Electra performance charts recalculated the aircraft's fuel endurance at 20 hours and 13 minutes, extending the expected flight time by about 40 minutes compared with the initial U.S. Coast Guard estimate.
July 18, 1937
high
statistical
Performance and endurance recalculation for the Lockheed Electra related to Earhart's planned flight.
The U.S. Coast Guard established a base on Coast Guard Island in 1926.
January 01, 1926
high
historical
The U.S. Coast Guard has maintained facilities on Coast Guard Island since the early 20th century.
The U.S. Coast Guard operates 21 domestic icebreakers for clearing commercial shipping channels and 16 ice-capable buoy tenders.
high
general
Inventory of U.S. Coast Guard vessels used for domestic icebreaking and ice-capable aids to navigation.
The U.S. Coast Guard states it requires at least eight polar icebreakers to meet Arctic operational needs.
high
policy
Operational requirement asserted by the U.S. Coast Guard regarding polar-capable heavy icebreakers.
The U.S. Coast Guard is the federal agency traditionally responsible for maritime drug interdiction operations.
high
contextual
Institutional role and typical law-enforcement responsibility for counter-narcotics at sea.
The U.S. Coast Guard maintains a longstanding prohibition on publicly displaying the Confederate flag, with limited exceptions for contexts such as educational or historical settings.
high
policy
Describes an enduring restriction within Coast Guard policy regarding the Confederate flag.
The U.S. Coast Guard classifies extremist or racist imagery, including symbols like swastikas and nooses, as violations of service values that will be investigated and subject to punishment.
high
policy
Enforcement posture for prohibited symbols within the U.S. Coast Guard.
Coast Guard guidance grants commanding officers authority to inquire about public displays of symbols identified as potentially divisive and to direct or order the removal of symbols that negatively impact morale and mission readiness.
high
procedure
Command-level authority and processes for addressing divisive symbols in the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Coast Guard guidance eliminated the term "hate incident" and reclassified conduct previously designated as hate incidents as harassment that is actionable only when a specific identifiable victim is named.
high
policy
Describes a change in how misconduct involving hateful imagery or behavior is categorized for disciplinary purposes.
The U.S. Coast Guard guidance specified that public displays of extremist symbols constitute misconduct only if they can be shown to harm good order and discipline, unit cohesion, command climate, morale, or mission effectiveness.
high
policy
Sets a harm-based threshold for treating public displays of extremist symbols as misconduct.
The U.S. Coast Guard guidance permitted symbols widely identified with oppression or hatred to be displayed in private or non-public settings, including military housing.
high
policy
Allows certain displays of oppressive or hateful symbols in non-public/private contexts under the guidance.
The U.S. Coast Guard guidance stated that hazing, even when it involves physical force, can serve a "proper military or other governmental purpose."
high
policy
Frames hazing as potentially permissible if characterized as serving a legitimate military or governmental purpose.