From the HERE City National Desk
The U.S. Coast Guard enlisted its largest class in nearly four decades during fiscal year 2026, topping its recruiting goals for the third year in a row as the service works to grow its ranks.
According to the Coast Guard, 5,445 active-duty members enlisted in fiscal 2026, up from 5,204 in 2025 and 4,422 in 2024. The service also commissioned 346 active-duty officers, the second-highest total in its history.
The 2025 class was itself a milestone. It came in at about 121% of the target and was the most new recruits since 1991.
During the year, the Coast Guard opened four recruiting offices, in Miami; Long Island, New York; Austin, Texas; and the Netherlands. It also awarded a $400 million contract to modernize Training Center Cape May in New Jersey, its only basic training center for enlisted recruits and the largest shore construction award in the service’s history.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement that the numbers prove the call to serve still resonates across the country.
The service has said recruiting gains will let it restore full operations next year at six stations that had been running at reduced capacity because of workforce shortages, though that depends on final fiscal 2027 budget appropriations. Operations at several units were cut in 2023 and 2024, with personnel shifted to higher-priority missions. The Coast Guard has more than 76,000 members.
