Coast Guard launches Civil Rights Regional Detachments

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Civil Rights announced Wednesday the launch of a centrally-managed, professional and full-time equal employment opportunity and equal opportunity counseling corps.

“Our goal is to offer timely delivery of critical services by full-time, knowledgeable Civil Rights Service Providers,” said Terri Dickerson, director of the Office of Civil Rights.  “The Civil Rights Detachments will support our civilian and military workforce as they protect our nation.”

To achieve this goal the Coast Guard will establish three dedicated Civil Rights Regional Detachments this summer to centralize complaint processing and outreach efforts.  One regional detachment will be based here, another in Portsmouth, Va., and the third in Alameda, Calif.

Centralized management means all Civil Rights Service Providers will report directly to Dickerson. Training for service providers will be standardized, rigorous and ongoing. These training and management enhancements will allow for swifter response and greater workload capacity.  The change mirrors the greater Coast Guard modernization efforts to improve efficiency.

For more information on civil rights modernization efforts please visit to: http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg00/cg00h/default.asp.