The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security,search and rescue,and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime,military,multi-mission service unique among the United States military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission with jurisdiction in both domestic and international waters and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its duties. It is the largest coast guard in the world,rivaling the capabilities and size of most navies.
The United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) is a service academy of the United States Coast Guard in New London,Connecticut. Founded in 1876,it is the smallest of the five U.S. service academies and provides education to future Coast Guard officers in one of nine major fields of study.
The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the United States Coast Guard. The commandant is an admiral,appointed for a four-year term by the president of the United States upon confirmation by the United States Senate. The commandant is assisted by a vice commandant,who is also an admiral,and two area commanders and two deputy commandants,all of whom are vice admirals.
Edwin John Roland,was a United States Coast Guard admiral and served as the twelfth Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1962 to 1966. During his tenure,Roland oversaw the replacement of many World War II era cutters under fleet modernization programs. He also assisted the U.S. Navy with operations in Vietnam by supplying crews and cutters for Operation Market Time. Roland was noted for his support in efforts to bring international safety standards to merchant shipping. Although Roland was already retired when the Coast Guard was transferred from the Department of Treasury to the newly formed Department of Transportation in 1967,he was largely responsible for the planning for the move and the Coast Guard retaining its military responsibilities along with its transportation related functions.
Alfred Carroll Richmond was an admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 11th Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1954 to 1962,the second longest tenure of any U.S. Coast Guard Commandant following Russell R. Waesche who served from 1936 to 1946.
Merlin O'Neill served as the tenth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1 January 1950 to 1 June 1954.
Russell Randolph Waesche,Sr. served as the eighth Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1936 to 1946,overseeing the service during World War II. He was the U.S. Coast Guard's longest serving commandant,having served ten years in that post. In addition,he was the first officer to hold the ranks of vice admiral and admiral within the Coast Guard.
Thad William Allen is a former admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 23rd commandant from 2006 to 2010. Allen is best known for his performance directing the federal response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the Gulf Coast region from September 2005 to January 2006,and for his role as National Incident Commander of the Unified Command for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. Robert J. Papp Jr. succeeded him as Commandant on 25 May 2010.
James C. Van Sice is a retired Rear Admiral in the United States Coast Guard. He was the 38th Superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy in New London,Connecticut,succeeding Rear Admiral Robert C. Olsen. He was succeeded by Rear Admiral J. Scott Burhoe. Rear Admiral Van Sice retired from the Coast Guard in 2007..
This article covers the organization of the United States Coast Guard.
Vice Admiral David Brian Peterman retired in July 2008. Prior to retiring he was Commander,Atlantic Area / Commander,Defense Force East. He assumed command of United States Coast Guard Atlantic Area on May 9,2006 and was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility east of the Rocky Mountains from Canada to Mexico,across the Atlantic Ocean to the Persian Gulf and throughout the Caribbean Sea. Over 33,000 military and civilian personnel,and 30,000 auxiliarists were under his leadership. He served concurrently as Commander,U.S. Coast Guard Defense Force East. With this change of command,Peterman relieved Vice Admiral Vivien S. Crea.
Ronald James Rábago is a retired United States Coast Guard rear admiral who in 2006 became the first person of Hispanic American descent to be promoted to flag rank in the United States Coast Guard. He retired as the assistant commandant for engineering and logistics and the United States Coast Guard's chief engineer in 2014.
Cari Batson Thomas is a retired rear admiral of the United States Coast Guard and a 1984 graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy. On January 22,2010,Thomas became the third female commander of USCG Training Center Cape May to be advanced to a flag officer. Her final assignment was Assistant Commandant for Human Resources at the Coast Guard Academy.
Paul Frederick Zukunft is a retired admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 25th commandant. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Commandant,with the rank of admiral,in May 2014 and relieved Robert J. Papp Jr. as commandant on 30 May 2014. Prior to his selection as Commandant,he served as Commander,Coast Guard Pacific Area. In this position,Zukunft was the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions within the half of the world that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. He concurrently served as Commander,Defense Force West and provided U.S. Coast Guard mission support to the U.S. Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders.
Sandra Leigh Stosz is a retired United States Coast Guard Vice Admiral whose final active duty assignment was as Deputy Commandant for Mission Support. Previously,she was chosen by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard,ADM Robert J. Papp to become the superintendent of the United States Coast Guard Academy in 2011. As such,she is the first woman to lead a United States service academy. At the time of her appointment to head the Coast Guard Academy,she was the Coast Guard's director of Reserve and leadership. Stosz was confirmed as a vice admiral in May 2015.
Captain Charley L. Diaz is a 30-year United States Coast Guard veteran who served on Active Duty from 1982 to 2012. Diaz is best known for leading the crew of the USCGC Sherman (WHEC-720) in the seizure of the Panamanian freighter GATUN off the coast of Panama in March 2007,which netted nearly 20 tons of cocaine worth an estimated $600 million. It was the largest maritime drug bust in US history.
There have been women in the United States Coast Guard since 1918,and women continue to serve in it today.
Charles W. Ray is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the vice commandant of the Coast Guard from May 24,2018 to June 18,2021. He previously served as the Coast Guard's deputy commandant for operations.
Donald McGregor Morrison was a vice admiral in the United States Coast Guard who served as the eighth Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1962 to 1964.
USCGC Charles Moulthrope (WPC-1141) is the United States Coast Guard's 41st Sentinel-class cutter,and the first of six to be homeported in Manama,Bahrain.
Commandant of the Coast Guard 
