This article covers theorganization of theUnited States Coast Guard.
The headquarters of the Coast Guard is located at 2703 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue SE inWashington, D.C. The Coast Guard relocated to the grounds of the formerSt. Elizabeths Hospital[1] in 2013.
Source:[2]
TheCommandant of the Coast Guard is the Coast Guard's most senior officer, who, by law, holds the rank ofadmiral. The commandant is selected for a four-year term, which may be renewed for additional four-year periods. The acting commandant is AdmiralKevin E. Lunday, who replaced AdmiralLinda L. Fagan on January 21, 2025 after Fagan was relieved before the end of her term.[3]
TheVice Commandant of the Coast Guard is Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, who replaced AdmiralSteven D. Poulin on June 13, 2024.[4]
The commander of theAtlantic Area isVice AdmiralNathan A. Moore.
The acting commander of thePacific Area isRear AdmiralJoseph R. Buzzella.[5]
The acting deputy commandant for operations is Rear AdmiralShannon N. Gilreath.
The deputy commandant for mission support is Vice AdmiralThomas G. Allan Jr.
There are approximately 48rear admirals in the Coast Guard who are either in the rank ofrear admiral orrear admiral (lower half). Positions held by rear admirals include the commanders of each of the nineCoast Guard Districts, the nine assistant commandants, and the deputies to each of the vice admirals. They are also located at Coast Guard Headquarters, Department of Defense commands, and other Coast Guard commands.[6]
Thesuperintendent of theUnited States Coast Guard Academy is Rear Admiral Michael J. Johnston.
The Coast Guard also utilizes members of the civilianSenior Executive Service (SES) to serve as executives within the organization. There are approximately 18 SES officials in the Coast Guard as of Fiscal Year 2017.[7]
The rank ofcommodore is no longer used in the Coast Guard. The equivalent rank used today is rear admiral (lower half). The title of commodore is occasionally granted to senior officers (typically of pay grade O-6, which is a captain) who are placed in command of a group or squadron of cutters. It is not a flag rank, but rather a title used to signify command of multiple units afloat.
The chief elected officers of theCoast Guard Auxiliary are also referred to as commodores, signifying their senior elected office, rather than a military rank.
Coast Guardcaptains, like their Navy counterparts, rank immediately below rear admiral (lower half). Coast Guard captains command most large operational units—sectors, largecutters, large air stations, integrated support commands, training centers and large headquarters units. Captains also direct most headquarters, area and district staff elements. Most captains have served in the Coast Guard for 21 to 30 years.
By maritime tradition, the commanding officer of a ship is also called "captain", regardless of actual rank held. Thus, a young junior officer commanding a patrol boat is properly called "captain" even if his or her actual rank islieutenant, orlieutenant (junior grade). This tradition has also carried over to many shore units. Occasionally, terms like "old man" and "skipper" are also used, though not usually in the presence of the "captain". However, in current usage, the person in charge of a Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary small boat is the "coxswain" (pronounced cok-sun).
Coast Guardcommanders (Pay grade O-5) may head departments in large operational units or staff positions, or they may be the commanding officer of a medium-sized unit. The termcommander is also associated with specific commanding officer positions, such assector commander (usually acaptain) or district commander (usually arear admiral).
The other commissioned officer ranks are (from most senior to least senior)
The Coast Guard has three active grades ofchief warrant officers. Chief warrant officers are commissioned officers, and are promoted from senior enlisted ranks. The grade of warrant officer (WO1) is not used in the Coast Guard. Although authorized in 1994, the Coast Guard does not currently use or have any active CWO5 grade.[8] The three grades in use are (from most senior to least senior):
An example of a position held by a chief warrant officer is commanding officer of a small cutter, such as USCGCAbbie Burgess.[9]
A chief warrant officer is not addressed as "chief"; that title that is normally reserved for the enlisted rank ofchief petty officer (E-7). The proper way to address a chief warrant officer is to refer to their title (CWO, CWO3) or to address them as "Mr." or "Ms."
Due to the small and decentralized nature of the service, Coast Guard warrant officers often fill command roles. Warrant officers may serve as officers-in-charge ofCoast Guard Stations, or as Command warrant officers.
As in the Navy, Coast Guardsmen in the rates ofchief petty officer (E-7),senior chief petty officer (E-8), andmaster chief petty officer (E-9), are collectively called "chiefs," and serve as the service's seniornon-commissioned officers. The Coast Guard is often short of officers, therefore chiefs often fill roles that would normally be filled by commissioned officers in other branches. Chiefs serve as officers-in-charge ofCoast Guard Stations and recruiting offices, command or serve as engineering petty officers on smaller cutters, and act as department heads on larger cutters.
Heath B. Jones is the currentMaster Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard (MCPOCG) and is the senior enlisted person of the Coast Guard and serves as an advisor to theCommandant.[10] Like the Commandant, the MCPOCG serves a four-year term.
.png)
Since most Coast Guard operations are domestic, the service has always been organized along regional lines. The Coast Guard'sshore establishment divides the continental United States and its territories into two area commands--Coast Guard Atlantic Area andCoast Guard Pacific Area—each commanded by a vice admiral. The area commands are divided into districts, each commanded by a rear admiral and responsible for a portion of the nation's coastline and/or inland waterways. Each district is further divided intosectors. Sectors are the primary organizational unit for many of the duties the public most closely identifies with the Coast Guard, such coordinating search and rescue missions and conducting law enforcement operations.
Individual operational units report at various levels within this three-tiered organizational structure. For example,small boat stations report to Sector Commanders whileair stations report to District Commanders; both sectors and air stations are typically commanded by a captain.
Cutters are not organized into standingfleets as in most naval forces. Instead, individual cutters report to shore establishment commanders at various levels. Generally speaking, the larger the cutter, the higher up the chain the cutter reports. For example,USCGC William Trump (WPC-1111), aSentinel-class cutter based inKey West, Florida, reports to Coast Guard Sector Key West, whileUSCGC Thetis (WMEC-910), a largerFamous-class cutter also based in Key West, reports to the Atlantic Area Commander.
Additionally, there are three major operational commands located outside the United States:
Within each District, large operational shore-side units known asSectors are responsible for mission execution within their area of responsibility. Sectors were formed when "groups" were merged with what were formerly known as Marine Safety Offices. Coast Guard small boat stations are calledStations and report to Sectors. EachSector Commander reports to the appropriate District Commander.
Coast Guard Air Stations provide aviation support for other Coast Guard activities. Unlike small boat stations, air stations are not subordinate to Sector commanders. Instead the commanding officer of a Coast Guard Air Station reports to the appropriate District Commander.
Staff elements directorates are each headed by an Assistant Commandant or Director. Each directorate reports to the Deputy Commandant for Operations or the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support. A handful, such as theJudge Advocate General, report directly to the Commandant/Vice-Commandant.
On July 23, 2007, the Coast Guard instituted a consolidated acquisition directorate, which handles major systems and future equipment acquisitions. It is the second-largest staff element at Coast Guard headquarters. Rear Admiral Michael J. Johnston, Assistant Commandant for Acquisition, leads the directorate.[15] The directorate’s programs include all platforms and mission systems designed to modernize and recapitalize the Coast Guard’s fleet of cutters, boats, aircraft, and information technology assets. Under the new organization, these programs are consolidated from the legacy Coast Guard acquisitions directorate and theIntegrated Deepwater System Program. The new directorate also brings together the office of procurement management; the office of research, development and technical management; the Research and Development Center; and the head of contracting.[16]
The Curatorial Services Office (CG-92) is located inForestville, Maryland which includes the U.S. Coast Guard Exhibit Center.[17]
| |||||||||||||
| Leadership |
| ||||||||||||
| Components |
| ||||||||||||
| Structure | |||||||||||||
| Operations andhistory |
| ||||||||||||
| Personnel |
| ||||||||||||
| Equipment |
| ||||||||||||
