Coast Guard reports major recruiting success for 2026

The service reported it enlisted 5,445 active-duty members in fiscal year 2026. It also commissioned 346 active-duty officers. Graduates complete basic training at U.S. Coast Guard Training Center Cape May, N.J., Sept. 11, 2026. (Juliana Thornton/U.S. Coast Guard) The U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that it had surpassed its recruiting goal for the third consecutive year, beating a streak set in 1987. The service reported it enlisted 5,445 active-duty members in fiscal year 2026, which ran from Oct. 1, 2025, to Sept. 30, 2026. It also commissioned 346 active-duty officers, the second-highest total in Coast Guard history. The 2026 enlisted recruiting exceeded the 5,204 enlisted members who joined in FY 2025, and the 4,422 in FY 2024.

“I am incredibly proud to stand beside these new Coast Guard men and women who have stepped up to defend our homeland,” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement. The Coast Guard is part of the Department of Homeland Security, but it can also be tasked to the Defense Department in conjunction with the Navy. Mullin said the recruiting success has put the Coast Guard on track to meet its Force Design 2028 goal of expanding the number of personnel by 15,000 from the current 76,000 members. The Coast Guard received a major boost in funding with a record one-time $25