The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member of the

United States Coast Guard 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, m ...

. The commandant is an

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

, appointed for a four-year term by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal gove ...

upon confirmation by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

. The commandant is assisted by a vice commandant, who is also an admiral, and two area commanders (U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area and U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area) and two deputy commandants (deputy commandant for operations and deputy commandant for mission support), all of whom are vice admirals. Though the

is one of the six military branches of the United States, unlike the other service chiefs, the commandant of the Coast Guard is not a member of the

Joint Chiefs of Staff The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) is the body of the most senior uniformed leaders within the United States Department of Defense, that advises the president of the United States, the secretary of defense, the Homeland Security Council and the ...

. The commandant is, however, entitled to the same supplemental pay as each member of the Joint Chiefs, per ($4,000 per annum in 2009), and is accorded privilege of the floor under Senate Rule XXIII(1) as a ''de facto'' JCS member during presidential addresses. The commandant maintains operational command over the Coast Guard, unlike the chiefs of the other services, who serve only administrative roles. Thus, while the operational

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

for the other services (per the

Goldwater–Nichols Act The Goldwater–Nichols Department of Defense Reorganization Act of October 4, 1986 , (signed by President Ronald Reagan), made the most sweeping changes to the United States Department of Defense since the department was established in the ...

) goes from the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

through the

secretary of defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in so ...

to the combatant commanders of the

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, ...

command and control Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ...

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

employs human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization o ...

of the Coast Guard goes from the president through the

secretary of homeland security The United States secretary of homeland security is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security, the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States. The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the U ...

(or

, when the Coast Guard is acting as a service in the Department of the Navy) through the commandant. Prior to the creation of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-ter ...

in 2003, the

operated under and the commandant reported to the

secretary of transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

from 1966 to 2003, and the

secretary of the treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

from 1790 until 1966. The current and 27th commandant is Admiral

Linda L. Fagan Linda Lee Fagan (born July 1, 1963) 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 fou ...

, who assumed office on 1 June 2022. She is the first woman to serve in the role.

History

The title of

commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

dates to a 1923 act that distributed the commissioned line and engineer officers of the U.S. Coast Guard in grades. Before 1923, the rank and title of the head of the Coast Guard was " captain-commandant." The rank "captain-commandant" originated in the

Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...

in 1908. The original holder of that rank was the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service (also known as the Revenue Marine). The Coast Guard traces the lineage of commandants back to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Leonard G. Shepard, chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau, even though he never officially received the title of captain-commandant. The captain-commandant position was created in 1908 when Captain Worth G. Ross was the first to actually hold the position. Although he was retired, Ross's predecessor, Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, was elevated to the rank of captain-commandant. Shoemaker's predecessor, Captain Shepard, had already died and was not elevated to the rank.

Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Bureau

Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau. *Captain Alexander V. Fraser, USRM, 1843–1848Noble, p 24 *Captain Richard Evans, USRM, 1848–1849Noble, p 21 In 1849 the Revenue Marine Bureau was dissolved, and the Revenue Marine fell under the control the commissioner of customs until the Revenue Marine Bureau was again established in 1869. *N. Broughton Devereux, 1869–1871 * Sumner I. Kimball, 1871–1878 *Ezra Clark, 1878–1885 *Peter Bonnett, 1885–1889

List of commandants

There have been 27 commandants of the Coast Guard since the office of chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau was transferred to a military billet. This includes Admiral

, the current commandant.

Timeline

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References cited

* * * * *

External links

Commandant's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commandant Of The Coast Guard United States Coast Guard job titles