United States Coast Guard Officer Personnel Management

This executive order delegates a broad set of Coast Guard officer personnel management authorities from the President to the Secretary of Homeland Security. Specifically, it gives the DHS Secretary the power to approve or disapprove selection-board reports, remove names from selection-board reports or lists of selectees, appoint officers to certain officer grades, and accept resignations for Coast Guard commissioned officers. It also covers authority to appoint officers in additional grades and to make temporary appointments not above lieutenant in the Regular Coast Guard and Coast Guard Reserve. The order also provides a wartime/national-emergency framework: during war or a national emergency, the Secretary can suspend certain laws governing officer selection, promotion, and involuntary separation and can temporarily promote active-duty officers and chief warrant officers, as well as suspend certain reserve officer provisions. There are safeguards ensuring these powers are used consistently with law, that actions are accounted for, and that, when the Coast Guard operates as part of the Navy, defense leadership (Secretary of Defense) assumes these duties. The order preserves prior presidential actions that are not inconsistent with its provisions and clarifies definitions and general principles for implementation. In short, the order formalizes a smooth, DHS-led framework for managing Coast Guard officer careers (appointments, promotions, and related actions) while reserving a clear pathway to military integration during wartime or national emergencies, and it ensures proper governance and accountability across these personnel processes.