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.
Admiral is a four-star commissioned officer rank in the United States Navy, the United States Coast Guard, and the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps with the pay grade of O-10. Admiral ranks above vice admiral and below fleet admiral in the Navy; the Coast Guard and the Public Health Service do not have an established grade above admiral. Admiral is equivalent to the rank of general in the other uniformed services. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps has never had an officer hold the grade of admiral. However, 37 U.S.C. § 201 of the U.S. Code established the grade for the NOAA Corps, in case a position is created that merits the four-star grade.
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.
This article covers the organization of the United States Coast Guard.
The Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the Department of Homeland Security, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally meritorious service. The current version of the medal was established in February 2003, retroactive to March 1, 2002.
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.
The vice commandant of the Coast Guard serves as the second-in-command of the United States Coast Guard, behind only the commandant of the Coast Guard.
James Clarence Irwin was a vice admiral in the United States Coast Guard who served as Vice Commandant from 1986 to 1988. He had been commander of the 5th Coast Guard District and Chief of the Office of Reserve at Headquarters, Coast Guard. After his term as vice commandant, he served as Commander, Joint Task Force FOUR and Coast Guard Atlantic Area and U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic.
Karl Leo Schultz is a retired United States Coast Guard admiral who served as the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard from 2018 to 2022.
Linda Lee Fagan is a United States Coast Guard admiral who serves as the 27th Commandant of the Coast Guard. Previously, in 2021 she became the 32nd Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard and the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral. Before that, she was the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area with prior terms as Coast Guard Deputy for Operations, Policy, and Capabilities, commander, First Coast Guard District, and commander, Coast Guard Sector New York. Fagan is also the Coast Guard's first Gold Ancient Trident, the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field. In April 2021, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas announced her nomination as the next Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, succeeding Charles W. Ray. She was confirmed on June 17, 2021, and assumed office on June 18.
Michael F. McAllister is a retired United States Coast Guard vice admiral who last served as commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area and Defense Force West from June 30, 2021 to July 8, 2022. He most recently served as Deputy Commandant for Mission Support and, prior to that, as commander of the Coast Guard Seventeenth District.
Andrew Joseph Tiongson is a United States Coast Guard vice admiral. Vice Admiral Tiongson has served concurrently as Commander, Pacific Area and Commander, Defense Force West since July 8, 2022. He most recently served as the Director of Operations (J3) at the United States Southern Command and was previously Commander of the Coast Guard First District. In his first flag assignment, he served as the Coast Guard's Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Commandant for Resources.
Nathan A. Moore is a US Coast Guard Rear Admiral and deputy commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area. He previously served as commander of the Seventeenth Coast Guard District.
Peter Williams Gautier is a United States Coast Guard vice admiral who serves as the deputy commandant for operations. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area.
Kevin Eugene Lunday is a United States Coast Guard vice admiral who serves as commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area since May 24, 2022, and director, Homeland Security Joint Task Force – East once the appointment is confirmed. He most recently served as the deputy for materiel readiness to the deputy commandant for mission support of the United States Coast Guard from July 2020 to April 2022. Lunday also previously commanded the Coast Guard Fourteenth District from July 2018 to June 2020, Coast Guard Cyber Command from 2016 to 2018, and served as the director of exercises and training (J7) of United States Cyber Command from 2014 to 2016.
