While the Auxiliary has historically assisted the Coast Guard with direct operational support through its airborne, surface, and communications sections, along with educational classes and free recreational vessel safety inspections, the SPG recognizes that recent events and rapid technological advancements clearly indicate that, moving forward, the Auxiliary will also need to focus on recruiting individuals with specialized life skills and knowledge in emerging areas such as Artificial Intelligence, talent acquisition, Cybersecurity, operations research and data analytics, Space, and unmanned systems operations and maintenance, where their intellectual assets, gained over a lifetime, could benefit the Coast Guard, especially during periods of critical manpower shortages.