Author Description

Senior USCG leaders consistently recognize significant gaps in officer performance. As a result, leader sponsored studies have delved into the root causes of these gaps resulting in recommendations to resolve the concerns. This paper will define the profession of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) officer corps and the officer military professional development programs currently in place in the USCG. Through research and a brief comparison with the U.S. Army officer professional development and education programs, this paper will also draw attention to the previously identified gaps in officer performance. These performance gaps were revealed in internal USCG studies including the Junior Officer Needs Assessment (JONA), the Mid-Grade Officer Leadership Gap Analysis (MOLGA), and the Strategic Capabilities Study. These studies provided senior USCG leaders with viable recommendations to improve officer leader development through a continuum of education. After defining the profession of the USCG officer, revealing the observed performance gaps, studying theorist's methods of developing and refining a profession, recommendations toward improving the USCG officer corps professional military education protocols conclude the report. The USCG should implement a robust officer development program that includes leadership principles and case studies, USCG history, and core courses studying National Security Policy, National Defense Strategy, and National Maritime Strategies. An officer professional development program should augment, not replace, the existing advanced education and military service school participation.