Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda L. Fagan.

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia -Adm. Linda L. Fagan, the 27th commandant of the Coast Guard, is serving the first year of a four-year term. She sat down for an interview with National Defense Editor in Chief Stew Magnuson on Nov. 19 on the sidelines of the Halifax Security Forum. The transcript has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Q. Unfortunately, every time I've done this interview with the Coast Guard commandant at the conference, the first question is always the same. How is the failure of Congress to pass a budget and the continuing resolution (CR) affecting the Coast Guard?

A. Obviously, this CR impacts all the federal agencies in the government, and a CR is not the most helpful place for us to be organizationally. A CR, as you know, limits new starts and a number of other areas. That said, the good news is that the Coast Guard enjoys wide bipartisan support [in Congress], and some of that translates into budget support. So, it's an exciting time to be in the Coast Guard.

Q. Are there any new starts that the CR affects right now?

A. Right now, I can't give you a specific example, but CRs have become almost the norm. We're still executing the largest acquisition programs that we've had since World War II. I remain committed to the path that my predecessors put the organization on with regard to those major ship investments. So that's all good news there. I'm particularly focused on our workforce--onboarding the talent that we need to operate those state-of-the-art ships and aircraft. But having a reliable budget is important to have.

Q. Another hot topic is inflation. Two parts to that: how is that affecting the Coast Guard and its acquisitions of those new technologies? And then the people part: how do you help Coast Guard personnel deal with higher prices and cost of living?

A. Inflation is obviously real. It's here for all of us as citizens. Probably the biggest impact on the organization has been fuel costs. We are working with our [Defense Department] counterparts in regard to expenses that the workforce may be experiencing. All the services have service members that have experienced it, particularly around housing and housing expenses. There was a mid-year increase in some of the travel rates that are in the line with our DoD forces, and we're very conscious of the fact that we need to ensure our members are able to secure adequate housing and have resources to support themselves and their families.

It's obviously been a pretty dynamic...