President Joe Biden praised Adm. Linda Fagan as the new commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard and the armed forces first female service chief, declaring at a change of command ceremony on Wednesday. The trailblazing career of Admiral Fagan shows young people entering the services, we mean what we say: There are no doors - no doors - closed to women, Biden told around 2,000 cheering guests at Coast Guard headquarters. The service chiefs from other military branches and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas were among those attending.
The president said that this is what an admiral and service chief in the United States armed forces looks like and thanked Fagan for all that you have done throughout your career to open the doors of opportunity just a little bit wider, allowing those following behind you a way through. Biden said that we need to keep working to make sure Admiral Fagan is the first, but not the only. We need more women at the highest levels of command in the Coast Guard and across every service. Adm. Karl L. Schultz was relieved by Fagans. In a brief address, Biden didn't mention Russia's war with Ukraine, but said that the choices the world makes today will shape the direction of the world throughout the 21st century. The president said that the Coast Guard will be called more frequently to combat the threats of climate change, because Wednesday marked the beginning of the seventh day of hurricane season that is expected to be the seventh year of above-average hurricane activity in the Atlantic. Biden called the Coast Guard an essential part of his administration's Indo-Pacific strategy, and said he planned to engage to guard against overfishing by Chinese interests.