Women in the United States Coast Guard

[6] Wartime newspapers erroneously reported that twin sisters Genevieve and Lucille Baker were the first women to serve in the Coast Guard; in fact, while they tried to enlist during the war, they were not accepted.

[7] On November 23, 1942, the Coast Guard Women's Reserve was created with the signing of Public Law 773 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

[13] Frontiero v. Richardson, 411 U.S. 677 (1973), was a landmark Supreme Court case which decided that benefits given by the military to the family of service members cannot be given out differently because of sex.

[5][17] In 1977 the first Coast Guard women were assigned to sea duty as crew members aboard Morgenthau and Gallatin.

[5] Beverly Kelley became the first woman to command an American military vessel of any branch of the service, specifically a Coast Guard cutter, the 95-foot patrol boat USCGC Cape Newagen, on April 12, 1979.

[22][23][24] In 1990, Lane McClelland became the first Women’s Policy Advisor in the Office of Personnel and Training at Coast Guard Headquarters.

[25] In 1992, she became the first active duty woman since the existence of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve to be promoted to the rank of captain.

[38][39] In 2020, Rear Admiral Melissa Bert became the first woman to serve as the Judge Advocate General and Chief Counsel of the Coast Guard.

[42][43] However, she was relieved of command on January 21, 2025 by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman for "failure to address border security threats, insufficient leadership in recruitment and retention, mismanagement in acquiring key acquisitions such as icebreakers and helicopters, excessive focus on diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and an "erosion of trust" over the mishandling and cover-up of Operation Fouled Anchor.