U.S. Coast Guard broke records across the board in 2025

By Bethany Blankley
The Center Square

(The Center Square ) – In 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard broke records across the board as the Trump administration poured an historic amount of funding into revitalizing the 235-year-old maritime force.

Under the Biden administration, USCG crew interdicted a record number of foreign nationals attempting to illegally enter the U.S. by sea, repatriating thousands to Haiti and Cuba, The Center Square reported.

Under the Trump administration, in January, USCG crew and resources were surged nationwide to expand border security operations, The Center Square reported.

USCG crew were actively involved in border security assisting with deportation flights in California and Texas, The Center Square reported. The USCG also launched Operation River Wall to patrol approximately 260 miles of the Rio Grande River in Texas.

USCG crew were also involved in targeted drug interdiction operations, making major busts throughout the year.

In March, the Coast Guard hit a milestone, interdicting more than 80,000 pounds of illicit drugs in one month, The Center Square reported.

By August, USCG Cutter Hamilton offloaded more than 76,000 pounds of drugs in Florida, including 61,740 pounds of cocaine and 14,400 pounds of marijuana, valued at $473 million. It was the largest drug offload in Coast Guard history.

Also in August, USCG’s Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) completed its 1,000th interdiction of suspected narco-trafficking vessels. In one year, HITRON interdicted $3.3 billion in illicit narcotics destined for the U.S. via maritime routes. This represents a three-fold increase over its historic annual average of $1 billion, the Coast Guard said.

By October, USCG Cutter Seneca crew offloaded more than 12,750 pounds of cocaine and marijuana also in Florida, The Center Square reported.

This year, the Trump administration also launched Operation Pacific Viper, a counter-drug operation in the Eastern Pacific Ocean targeting cartel and transnational crime coming from Central and South America.

USCG crew seized more than 150,000 pounds of cocaine during the operation, averaging roughly 1,600 pounds of cocaine interdicted a day. It reached 34 interdictions in less than two months, the Coast Guard said.

During the operation, USCG Cutter Stone crew made 15 interdictions in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, seizing approximately 49,010 pounds of illicit narcotics worth more than $362 million.

Its offload at Port Everglades was the largest amount of cocaine seized by a single cutter in one patrol in Coast Guard history, it said.

USCG Cutter James also “executed a remarkable run of four significant seizures across 10 days in November, netting 19,819 pounds of cocaine,” the Coast Guard said.

On Dec. 2, USCG Cutter Munro seized more than 20,000 pounds of cocaine in a single interdiction, after using “disabling fire on a heavily laden go-fast vessel.” It was the largest at-sea interdiction since March 2007, the Coast Guard said.

Overall, Coast Guard illegal narcotics seizures were up this year by 200%, the Department of Homeland Security said.

Coast Guard crew seized nearly 470,000 pounds of cocaine this year – enough to kill up to 177 million Americans with 1.2 grams considered a lethal dose, DHS said.

Funding for the Coast Guard was prioritized in the “Big Beautiful Bill” enacted this year. A record nearly $25 billion was allocated – the largest single funding commitment in Coast Guard history, The Center Square reported.

Funding will enable the Coast Guard to procure an estimated 17 new icebreakers, 21 new cutters, more than 40 helicopters and six C-130J aircraft. It also will modernize its shore infrastructure and maritime surveillance systems.

In August, it commissioned Cutter Storis, the Coast Guard’s first new polar icebreaker in more than 25 years.

In fiscal 2025, the Coast Guard also surpassed its recruitment goals across the board, “showing that more Americans want to serve in the Coast Guard than ever before,” Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant of the Coast Guard, said in a statement. “We aren’t just growing – we are bringing in the best talent from across the United States and building the workforce of the future.”

Its active duty enlisted recruitment goal of 4,300 was surpassed with 5,204 enlisted, it said. Its reservist goal of 750 was surpassed with 777 reservists.

Its commissioned officer goal was surpassed with 371 new officers being sworn in, the highest ever in recorded history.

Overall, the Coast Guard achieved its highest accession numbers since 1991, it said.