Ex-Coast Guard Boss Covered Up Sexual Assaults at Academy: CNN
‘OPERATION FOULED ANCHOR’
Commandant Karl L. Schultz and his deputy quietly covered up a bombshell investigation that found dozens of rapes and assaults had occurred at the agency’s prestigious academy.
Four years ago, the then-head of the U.S. Coast Guard quietly suppressed the findings of a bombshell investigation into a pervasive culture of sexual assault at the agency’s prestigious academy, according to CNN. The outlet reported Tuesday that Commandant Karl L. Schultz and his deputy, Admiral Charles W. Ray, failed to act on—or even disclose—the report’s findings, despite investigators readying plans to brief lawmakers and the Department of Homeland Security. Schultz took over the Coast Guard in June 2018, as the inquiry, known as Operation Fouled Anchor, was wrapping up. The report substantiated dozens of rapes and assaults dating back to the 1980s, according to CNN. Schultz’s predecessor, Admiral Paul Zukunft, told CNN that he’d planned to brief Congress and issue a public apology. He retired before the inquiry concluded, but he said he’d brought Schultz up to speed on the matter at the time. A congressional aide familiar with the investigation told CNN that Schultz and Ray apparently made a “political calculation” in keeping silent. “They knew. They read it. They signed off on it,” the aide said. “It seems like the most logical reason is that they didn’t want to have controversy under their leadership.”
