The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, paid U.S. Coast Guard Base Kodiak a roughly four-hour visit today on March 17, but officials haven’t said why.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Coast Guard is one of many agencies that fall under the purview of the Department of Homeland Security, such as Customs and Border Protection or the Transportation Security Administration.
According to a spokesperson for Base Kodiak, Petty Officer Shannon Kearney, Noem held an “all-hands” chat with Coast Guard staff this morning.
An Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon was traveling with her, and photographed the secretary's morning in Kodiak. AP photos show Noem toured the area on a HC-130 plane. She engaged in a live firefighting training with the Coast Guard Fire Department.
Secretary Noem also spent time with Admiral Megan Dean, the Commander of the 17th Coast Guard’s District, when she presented an aviation maintenance technician Connor J. Beuthin with a commendation medal.
A Coast Guard staffer, who wasn’t sure what information was releasable to the press at this time, told KMXT that Secretary Noem’s intent was to see the operations on base. But officials declined to confirm that or say why Noem was visiting Kodiak.
Her trip to the island immediately follows a weekend tour of the U.S.’s southern border wall in Arizona and visits with maritime border agencies in San Diego, like the Coast Guard.
Kearney, the USCG Base Kodiak spokesperson, said the secretary was scheduled to fly out on a government jet before noon today.
