Jody A. Breckenridge is a former commander of the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Area. The area of operations for this command encompasses over throughout the Pacific Basin to the Far East. Vice Admiral Breckenridge oversaw the operation of units performing missions in

maritime safety Maritime safety as part of and overlapping with water safety is concerned with the protection of life (search and rescue) and property through regulation, management and technology development of all forms of waterborne transportation. The execut ...

, maritime mobility, protection of natural resources, maritime security, homeland security, and national defense. In addition, she oversaw two service level commands – the

Deployable Operations Group The Deployable Operations Group (DOG) was a United States Coast Guard command that provided properly equipped, trained and organized Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF), which still exist today, to the Coast Guard, United States Department of Homel ...

and the Coast Guard Force Readiness Command.

Early life and education

Breckenridge grew up in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

, and joined the Coast Guard in 1976. She received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in biology from

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

, earned a master's degree in

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

and a Master of Science degree in national resource strategy from the

Industrial College of the Armed Forces The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

. While attending the University of Maryland, she was elected to the honor society of

Phi Kappa Phi The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi (or simply Phi Kappa Phi or ) is an honor society established in 1897 to recognize and encourage superior scholarship without restriction as to area of study, and to promote the "unity and democracy of education ...

and was presented an Excellence in Scholarship award, graduating with honors. In 2007, she was honored with the University of Maryland Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Career

Prior to her assignment as PACAREA commander, she served as the director, Strategic Transformation Team, where she was responsible for aligning and synchronizing the efforts to transform and modernize the Coast Guard. Simultaneously, she served as assistant commandant for human resources where she had oversight of the Coast Guard's HR professionals. From 2005 to 2006 Breckenridge served as commander of the Eleventh Coast Guard District in Alameda, California, overseeing Coast Guard operations in the Southwest states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, and the Eastern Pacific Ocean. During her tenure, the Eleventh District stepped up its inter-agency collaboration leading to record drug seizures including the MV ''Gatun'', the largest maritime interdiction in US history, and the arrest of Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, head of the Arellano Felix drug cartel. Her initial flag assignment was as commander, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific, with responsibility for all mission support in the Pacific Theater. Breckenridge graduated from Officer Candidate School in June 1976. Her first tour of duty was in the

National Response Center 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, mul ...

, eventually as senior watchstander. Afterwards, she was assigned to the Pollution Response Branch of the Marine Environmental Protection Division at the Coast Guard Headquarters. During that time, she served as a White House social aide. For a short time, she was detailed to the

Coast Guard Academy 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 Gu ...

for the summer training program when women were first admitted to the academy. In September 1979, Breckenridge reported to Group Seattle, where she served as the assistant port safety officer and was then selected as the first group operations officer. Subsequent duty assignments have included the Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center, Coast Guard Headquarters, postgraduate school at the

, chief of Officer Candidate School at Training Center Yorktown, Virginia, executive officer of Integrated Support Center Seattle, Coast Guard Personnel Command (chief, officer assignments), Industrial College of the Armed Services, the Coast Guard Personnel Command (assistant chief and chief, Officer Personnel Management Division), and commanding officer, Coast Guard Recruiting Command. While assigned to the Personnel Command, Breckenridge represented the Coast Guard on a five-month

Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to: Current departments of defence * Department of Defence (Australia) * Department of National Defence (Canada) * Department of Defence (Ireland) * Department of National Defense (Philippin ...

study entitled "The Officer Personnel Structure for the 21st Century". Breckenridge also served as the deputy chief of staff of the Coast Guard. Since retirement, VADM Breckenridge has served on the board of the Marine's Memorial association, was chairman of the board of the Water Emergency Transportation Authority running the ferry service for the eastern shore of the San Francisco Bay. She is vice chairman of the San Francisco Fleet Week, serves on the board of the Association for Rescue At Sea, is a board member for the Council for a Strong America, and is on the board of directors for 1st Command Financial Services. She is currently on the board of visitors for the National Defense University, and serves as vice chairman for the California Governor's Military Council.

Awards

Vice Admiral Breckenridge's awards include three

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

s, the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: *Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Med ...

, four

Coast Guard Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

s, two

Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

s, the Commandant's Letter of Commendation, and four

Meritorious Team Commendation The Meritorious Team Commendation (MTC) is a unit award of the United States Coast Guard. Created on 22 December 1993, the Meritorious Team Commendation is awarded for performance of exceptional actions that would normally warrant a Commandant's ...

s. *

with two Gold Stars * Meritorious Service Medal ribbon

with three Gold Stars *

Coast Guard Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to recei ...

with Gold Star *

Commandant's Letter of Commendation *

with three gold Stars For the service to the country since her retirement, in 2018 The Commandant of Coast Guard presented to her the Secretary of Homeland Security's Award for Outstanding Public Service.

External links

Official BiographyPacific Area web siteU.S. Coast Guard Adm. runs a tight ship - ''San Francisco Chronicle, January 1, 2007''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breckenridge, Jody A. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people United States Coast Guard admirals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Virginia Tech alumni People from Potomac, Maryland Military personnel from Maryland Female admirals of the United States Coast Guard 21st-century American women