Original Broadcast Date: 11/08/2026
Sponsored by Arlo Solutions
The Coast Guard is bringing its digital transformation efforts directly to the people carrying out its missions, and Brian Campo, Director of Technology Readiness and Chief Data and AI Officer, says the goal is to make technology more useful for the workforce.
During an interview with George Jackson on Fed Gov Today at Appian Government 2026, Campo explains how the Coast Guard's Digital Transformation Roadshow is helping technology leaders understand operational challenges and identify opportunities to improve everyday work.
For Campo, the measure of success is straightforward: how much time can technology give back to Coast Guard personnel?
Campo says the Coast Guard is visiting every district over the next year to learn how operators use technology and what improvements they need.
The initiative already includes visits to the Southeast, Heartland, and Great Lakes districts.
These visits provide opportunities to hear directly from personnel about their experiences with existing tools.
Campo explains that the Coast Guard has several technology initiatives underway, but their effectiveness depends on whether people can use them.
That makes engagement with operators an important part of the modernization process.
Rather than developing technology without understanding how it functions in operational environments, Campo wants his team to work directly with the personnel who rely on those systems.
The roadshow helps identify where technology supports missions and where it creates unnecessary challenges.
The Coast Guard's digital transformation strategy also supports Force Design 2028.
Campo says the broader initiative brings together efforts focused on people, organizational structures, technology, and mission outcomes.
As the technology table lead for Force Design, he works to align digital initiatives with other priorities across the organization.
Those priorities include border control, the flow of commerce, and responding to contingencies.
Campo explains that technology touches every one of those areas.
His role involves connecting the Coast Guard's digital transformation strategy with broader organizational goals while incorporating data and artificial intelligence capabilities.
The objective is to make sure technology improvements support the service's operational responsibilities.
Campo identifies one measure that guides his technology priorities.
"Minutes on mission is our measure," Campo says.
He explains that the Coast Guard wants to reduce the amount of time personnel spend on activities that pull them away from their operational responsibilities.
That includes administrative tasks, paperwork, and interactions with systems that require unnecessary effort.
Campo offers the example of a crew returning from patrol.
After completing operational work, personnel may still need to spend hours transferring handwritten notes into logbooks or entering information into systems.
He wants to identify opportunities to automate those processes.
Artificial intelligence and other digital capabilities could help reduce that administrative burden.
The goal is to allow personnel to spend more time with their crews and focus on the Coast Guard's statutory missions.
Campo says the roadshow helps identify which activities create the greatest friction and where technology can make a difference.
Campo emphasizes that technology is most valuable when it helps people perform their jobs.
He explains that his own career shapes how he approaches digital transformation.
Rather than beginning with a particular technology or system requirement, he starts by asking what people need.
That approach also influences his interest in artificial intelligence.
Campo sees opportunities for AI to automate tasks that do not require human judgment and make information available more quickly.
Those capabilities could help personnel avoid spending time on repetitive work.
He says the Coast Guard's wide range of responsibilities makes understanding users especially important.
The service carries out 11 statutory missions, including search and rescue, drug interdiction, environmental protection, and maritime security.
Personnel may work across several of those missions during their careers.
Campo says their experiences provide valuable insight into technology gaps and operational challenges.
Another major focus is improving how Coast Guard personnel access technology while deployed.
Campo says the service completes an approximately year-and-a-half-long effort to bring connectivity to all of its capital cutters.
That work includes using Starshield and other technologies.
He explains that improved connectivity makes a significant difference for personnel at sea.
It allows crews to communicate with loved ones while also providing better access to the tools needed to manage missions.
The improvements also change how the Coast Guard can design digital capabilities.
Instead of assuming systems must always operate without connectivity, technology teams can consider how tools function when connections are intermittent.
Campo says systems should support personnel whether they are connected or disconnected.
One example is the Coast Guard's digitization of its 4100 boarding form.
Campo explains that the form documents interactions with vessels during maritime operations.
Previously, completing associated paperwork could create additional administrative work after a mission.
The digital version allows personnel to fill out the form during a boarding, even without an active connection.
When connectivity becomes available, the information can automatically move into the appropriate systems.
Campo says this approach can eliminate the need for personnel to spend additional time completing paperwork after returning from an operation.
It represents the kind of practical improvement he wants the Coast Guard to pursue.
For Campo, digital transformation begins and ends with the operator.
The Coast Guard's roadshow provides a way to understand where technology helps personnel and where it creates obstacles.
Those conversations guide efforts to improve connectivity, reduce administrative work, and introduce new capabilities.
As the Coast Guard continues its transformation, Campo wants technology teams to remain focused on the people using their systems.
The ultimate objective is not simply deploying more technology.
It is removing digital friction so Coast Guard personnel can spend more time carrying out their missions.