'Change is necessary': Coast Guard pledges reforms after mishandling reports of sexual assault

The US Coast Guard, rocked by allegations that its leaders for years concealed damning information about sexual assaults and other serious misconduct, released a highly critical report Wednesday acknowledging it had "failed to keep our people safe," while vowing to make reforms that would better protect them.

After spending 90 days speaking with hundreds of service members, reading through more than 170 written comments and "sifting through a mountain of data," an internal review team said it had heard a resounding message from the workforce that "these failures and lack of accountability are entirely unacceptable" and that leaders "must do something about it."

"Too many Coast Guard members are not experiencing the safe, empowering workplace they expect and deserve (and) trust in Coast Guard leadership is eroding," the authors wrote in the roughly 100-page report, noting that they had heard from victims of sexual assault and harassment stretching from the 1960s to the current day who "expressed deep rooted feelings of pain and a loss of trust in the organization."

The scathing internal review was launched after CNN exposed a secret criminal investigation, dubbed Operation Fouled Anchor, which found that serious misconduct had been ignored and, at times, covered up by high-ranking officials. It wasn't until CNN started asking questions about Fouled Anchor this spring that Coast Guard leaders rushed to officially brief Congress on the scandal - leading to outrage on both sides of the aisle, multiple government investigations and proposed legislation.

CNN's coverage of Fouled Anchor and subsequent reporting revealing that Coast Guard leaders declined to prosecute a retired officer for sexual misconduct "have led people to experience feelings ranging from disappointment to outrage," the report said.

"For so many victims, there are even deeper levels of broken trust: in leaders who failed them in preventing and responding to sexual violence; in a military justice system with antiquated legal definitions of rape; in non-existent support programs for those impacted prior to 2000," it stated. While the report outlined a number of changes made in the last two decades, it also acknowledged that reforms to date have not been enough to prevent assaults and properly support victims.

The review did not seek to hold past perpetrators or officials involved with the Fouled Anchor cover-up accountable, saying multiple government investigations launched by Congress remained ongoing.