64
FOGHORN
Force Design 2028 is accelerating 
some of these pressures. We have said 
this before, but it bears repeating that 
the FD2028 Executive Report does 
not reference marine safety as a dis-
tinct operational mission. The terms 
“vessel inspection,” “passenger ves-
sel,” “marine inspector,” “certificate 
of inspection,” and “CG-5P” do not 
appear in the document. The word 
“safety” appears once, and only to jus-
tify military workforce growth. PVA 
supports a stronger, better-resourced 
Coast Guard. We advocated for Coast 
Guard funding on Capitol Hill this 
spring, and we meant it. 
I believe Congress has a responsibility 
to ensure that the Coast Guard has 
adequate resources and direction. 
The failure to fund the Coast Guard 
on time was a genuine threat to ma-
rine safety. There is nothing more 
demoralizing to a workforce trying to 
carry out a complex technical mission 
than not knowing whether the lights 
will stay on. We have told members 
of Congress this directly, and we will 
continue to do so. It is disgraceful 
that an agency responsible for the 
safety of the maritime transportation 
system, which by the Coast Guard’s 
own reporting contributes more than 
$28 billion in economic value to the 
nation, would sit idle due to Congres-
sional funding inaction. 
The PVA/Coast Guard Quality 
Partnership is representative of what 
a functioning relationship between 
government and industry is supposed 
to look like. It works because both 
sides come prepared, speak honestly, 
and follow through on commitments. 
PVA’s role in this relationship has 
never been simply to receive informa-
tion, but it is to push when pushing is 
warranted, and to bring the kind of 
institutional knowledge that produces 
results. We left Alexandria with action 
items on both sides of the table, and 
we will track them.
The PVA/Coast Guard Quality Part-
nership is essential to maintaining ef-
fective communications, understand-
ing, and continual improvement. We 
will be back at that table in the fall.
Sincerely,
Andrew Sargis
PVA President, 2026
Continued from page 4: Letter from the President
AT THE HELM
PHOTO: RICHARD PATCH
The PVA/Coast Guard 
Quality Partnership 
is representative of 
what a functioning 
relationship between 
government and 
industry is supposed 
to look like. It works 
because both sides 
come prepared,  
speak honestly, and 
follow through  
on commitments. 
From left: PVA Vice President John Lake, PVA President Andrew Sargis, U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral (Select) Robert 
Compher, PVA Executive Director John Groundwater

View this content as a flipbook by clicking here.