ALCOAST 193/26 - JUN 2026 FORCE DESIGN - FUTURES DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION (CG-FD&I) DIRECTORATE: READY FOR THE FUTURE

R 261314Z JUN 26  MID120041339660U
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC
TO ALCOAST
BT
UNCLAS
ALCOAST 193/26
SSIC 5400
SUBJ: FORCE DESIGN - FUTURES DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION (CG-FD&I)
DIRECTORATE: READY FOR THE FUTURE
A. COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC 021945Z SEP 25/ALCOAST 371/25
B. Force Design 2028 Executive Report
C. Force Design 2028 Executive Plan Summary
D. Force Design 2028 Update
1. Summary. Following the stand-up of Initial Operating Capability
on 02 SEP 2025 per REFs (A) through (D) the Futures Development
and Integration Directorate (CG-FD&I) continues its
transition to a fully integrated, Full Operating Capability
posture. COMDT (CG-FD&I) is an essential element of Force
Design to ready the future Coast Guard. This ALCGFD28 will
update the Coast Guard workforce on COMDT (CG-FD&I) success and
future focus.
2. Background. COMDT (CG-FD&I) has worked with expediency to bring
the Offices of Foresight, Strategy, and War Gaming (CG-FSW),
Strategic Capabilities (CG-SC), Program Analysis and Evaluation
(CG-PAE) and the Research and Development Center (CG-RDC) into a
cohesive Directorate. In the past six months, COMDT (FD&I) has made
significant strides in driving innovation, collaboration, and
operational improvements focused on building a future ready,
vertically integrated strategic enterprise, to deliver the right
capabilities at the speed of relevance in alignment with Department
of Homeland Security (DHS) and Coast Guard priorities.
3. Key Updates. COMDT (CG-FD&I) successes:
    a. Established key CG-FD&I Lines of Effort to better outline the
value that COMDT (CG-FD&I) delivers and ensure we have a
strategically aligned Coast Guard: Foresight and Strategy, Mission
Engineering, Experimentation, and Strategic Decision Support.
    b. Developed the Coast Guard's Operating Concepts process that
will leverage a structured experimentation framework (War Gaming,
Modeling and Simulation, Research and Development, and more) to
examine our unsolved military problems and objectives, which will
identify Key Operational Problems (KOPs) that must be solved to
ensure the Service is prepared to operate in the future.
    c. Completed five Advanced Concept Team working groups for
Maritime Domain Dominance, Subsea, Space, Polar Regions, and Gray
Zone, bringing subject matter experts for each to define the KOPs
that will drive future budget decisions and prepare for our future.
    d. Partnered with the Office of Rapid Response Prototype Team
(CG-RAPTOR) resulting in the successful SENTINEL-5 Capability
Demonstration Day that showcased how Team Awareness Kit integrates
video feeds, sensor data, and communications into a single interface
accessible across the Coast Guard network and underway platforms.
The importance being connecting assets, sensors, and operators in
real time to improve decision-making and response.
    e. Completed a four-day war game event in March 2026 exploring
anticipated needs of the Service 2040-2045 and building a roadmap
for the future war games to facilitate prioritization of near-term
operational needs and test new Operating Concepts.
    f. Released the Coast Guard's Interim Operational Requirements
Process, serving as a bridge between the legacy capability
requirements process and the new Mission Engineering Methodology.
This interim process is designed to accelerate and streamline our
current requirements lifecycle by providing a holistic, threat-based
approach to developing capability requirements, ensuring our
solutions are better aligned with pressing operational challenges.
Interim Requirements Process link:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/:f:/s/USCG-cgFDI/IgCysIACVHfrTI1REypg
1yMWAXpqHHjKOXM91BOuHIJcpD4?e=2jfn5u

    g. Significantly strengthened ties with U.S. Department of War
Lab Commanders, enhancing collaborative partnerships across the
Research Portfolio.
    h. Completed the Maritime Domain Dominance (MDD) Request for
Information (RFI) that received 278 responses and developed a
Maritime Domain Dominance RFI Results Tool that can be used by Coast
Guard for industry research. MDD RFI Results and Tool:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/USCG-cgFDI/SitePages/MDD-RFI-
Results-and-Tool.aspx

    i. Completed a Strategic Infrastructure Review, resulting in a
$263M spend plan for critical shore infrastructure, a prioritized
FY28 investment list for 89 homeports and air stations, and
groundwork for the Coast Guard's first Strategic Asset Laydown.
    j. Planning started for a FY26 Coast Guard's "Futures Hub," which
will serve as the front door for new ideas and streamline input
research and development and innovation.
    k. Transforming cutter homeporting from a reactive process to an
annual, strategic laydown that informs Planning, Programming,
Budget, and Execution (PPBE), while continuing to analyze and
recommend asset placement.
    l. Supporting CPA in the work that is starting to review and
update the PPBE process.
4. Members are encouraged to visit the COMDT (CG-FD&I) SharePoint
site at:
(Copy and Paste URL Below into Browser)

https://uscg.sharepoint-mil.us/sites/USCG-cgFDI

5. COMDT (CG-FD&I) contact email: SMB-COMDT-FDI-Operations@uscg.mil
6. RDML Amy B. Grable, Assistant Commandant for Futures Development
and Integration (CG-FD&I), sends.
7. Internet release is authorized.