Flag of a United States Coast Guard vice admiral

This is a complete list of

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, mult ...

vice admirals. The grade of vice admiral (or ''three-star admiral'') is the second-highest in the Coast Guard, ranking above

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

(''two-star admiral'') and below

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, ...

(''four-star admiral''). The grade of vice admiral was first granted to the

commandant of the Coast Guard 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 Uni ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. From 1942 to 1972, the Coast Guard had at most one vice admiral, either the commandant or the

assistant commandant Assistant Commandant is a title often given to the second-in-command of a military, uniformed service, training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations, and in some countries it may be a military or police rank. ...

. Additional vice admirals were appointed in 1972 to command operating forces in the Atlantic and Pacific, and by 2021 the Coast Guard had four vice admirals on active duty. More than a dozen rear admirals received

tombstone promotion A tombstone promotion is an advance in rank awarded at retirement. It often does not include any corresponding increase in retired pay, in which case it is an honorary promotion whose only benefit is the right to be addressed by the higher rank an ...

s to vice admiral when they retired, for either completing 40 years of service or being specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. Tombstone promotions for years of service ended on November 1, 1949, and for combat citations on November 1, 1959. Of the 80 vice admirals who were appointed to that rank while on active duty, 68 were commissioned via the

U.S. 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 G ...

(USCGA) or its predecessor, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction (USRCSSI); 1 via the

U.S. Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

(USMMA); and 11 via

officer candidate school An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

(OCS).

List of vice admirals

The following list of vice admirals is indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was appointed to that rank. Each entry lists the officer's name, date of rank,Dates of rank are taken from the ''Coast Guard Register of Officers'' or from the officer's official biography. number of years on active duty as vice admiral (Yrs),The number of years on active duty as vice admiral is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Date of rank" column from the last year in the "Position" column, or from the date promoted to admiral in the "Notes" column. active-duty positions held while serving as vice admiral,Positions listed are those held by the officer when promoted to vice admiral. Dates listed are for the officer's full tenure, which may predate promotion to vice admiral or postdate retirement from active duty. year commissioned and source of commission,Sources of commission are listed in parentheses after the year of commission, and include the

United States 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 ...

(USCGA),

United States Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

(USMMA), United States Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction (USRCSSI), and

(OCS). and number of years in commission when promoted to vice admiral (YC),The number of years in commission before being promoted to vice admiral is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column. and other biographical notes.Notes include years of birth and death; awards of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is an award bestowed by the United States Congress. It is Congress's highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions by individuals or institutions. The congressional pract ...

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...

, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with other three-star officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and unusual career events such as premature relief or death in office.

Timeline

ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:10 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1940 till:2040 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1940 Define $start = 2010 Define $now = 2023 Colors = id:fourstar value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: Four-star_post id:vcg value:rgb(0.75,0.75,0.75) legend: Vice_commandant id:staff value:rgb(0,0.8,0.8) legend: Headquarters_staff id:lantarea value:rgb(1,0,1) legend: Atlantic_Area id:pacarea value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: Pacific_Area id:vadm value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Other id:general value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) legend: Non-CG_joint id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:none value:rgb(1,1,1) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1950 at:1960 at:1970 at:1980 at:1990 at:2000 at:2010 at:2020 at:$now BarData = barset:PM bar:dod bar:dj6 bar:cjtf4 bar:spacer1 bar:dot bar:disdot bar:spacer2 bar:cghq bar:ccg bar:acgcs bar:acg bar:vcg bar:cs bar:dcms bar:dco bar:spacer3 bar:forces bar:comlantarea bar:compacarea PlotData= width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:dod from:$now till:$now color:none text:" Dept. of Defense" bar:dj6 from: 1979 till: 2011 color:general bar:dj6 from: 2012 till: 2016 color:general bar:dj6 from: 2016 till: 2018 color:vadm bar:dj6 from: 2018 till: $now color:general text:"Dir. J6, Joint Staff" bar:cjtf4 from: 1989 till: 1991 color:vadm text:"CJTF-4" bar:dot from:$now till:$now color:none text:" Dept. of Transportation" bar:disdot from: 1990 till: 1993 color:vadm text:"Dir. Intel & Secy, DoT" bar:cghq from: $now till: $now color:none text:" Headquarters staff" bar:ccg from: 1942 till: 1945 color:vadm bar:ccg from: 1945 till: 1946 color:fourstar bar:ccg from: 1946 till: 1960 color:vadm bar:ccg from: 1960 till: $now color:fourstar text:"CCG" bar:acgcs from: 1960 till: 1962 color:vcg text:"ACG/CS" bar:acg from: 1962 till: 1972 color:vcg text:"ACG" bar:vcg from: 1972 till: 2016 color:vcg bar:vcg from: 2016 till: $now color:fourstar text:"VCG" bar:cs from: 1992 till: 2011 color:staff text:"CS" bar:dcms from: 2011 till: $now color:staff text:"DCMS" bar:dco from: 2011 till: $now color:staff text:"DCO" bar:forces from: $now till: $now color:none text:"

Operating forces Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

" bar:comlantarea from: 1972 till: $now color:lantarea text:"COMLANTAREA" bar:compacarea from: 1972 till: $now color:pacarea text:"COMPACAREA" ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:10 PlotArea = top:50 bottom:50 right:130 left:20 AlignBars = late DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1940 till:2040 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:1940 Define $now = 2022 Colors = id:adm value:rgb(1,0,0) legend: Four-star_post id:vcg value:rgb(0.75,0.75,0.75) legend: Vice_commandant id:staff value:rgb(0,0.8,0.8) legend: Headquarters_staff id:lantarea value:rgb(1,0,1) legend: Atlantic_Area id:pacarea value:rgb(0,1,0) legend: Pacific_Area id:vadm value:rgb(0,0,1) legend: Other id:time value:rgb(0.9,0.9,0.9) id:era value:rgb(0.75,0.75,0.75) id:erabar value:rgb(0,0,0) Legend = orientation:vertical position:right LineData = layer:back width:0.1 color:time at:1950 at:1960 at:1970 at:1980 at:1990 at:2000 at:2010 at:2020 at:$now BarData = barset:PM bar:waesche bar:oneill bar:richmond bar:hirshfield bar:roland bar:morrison bar:shields bar:trimble bar:sargent bar:whalen bar:engel bar:perry bar:rea bar:mcclelland bar:wagner bar:scarborough bar:price bar:gracey bar:stewart bar:caldwell bar:stabile bar:larkin bar:yost bar:costello bar:irwin bar:thompson bar:lusk bar:robbins bar:thorsen bar:daniell bar:beran bar:welling bar:nelson bar:kramek bar:henn bar:loy bar:williams bar:herr bar:rufe bar:card bar:josiah bar:collins bar:shkor bar:riutta bar:allen bar:hull bar:barrett bar:cross bar:johnson bar:crea bar:papp bar:peterman bar:wurster bar:pekoske bar:pearson bar:breckenridge bar:currier bar:parker bar:brown bar:briceohara bar:salerno bar:zukunft bar:neffenger bar:ray bar:michel bar:lee bar:stosz bar:midgette bar:lytle bar:schultz bar:buschman bar:mcallister bar:fagan bar:abel bar:poulin bar:thomas bar:lunday bar:gautier bar:tiongson PlotData = width:6 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till barset:PM bar:waesche from: 1942 till: 1945 color:vadm bar:waesche from: 1945 till: 1946 color:adm text:"

Russell R. Waesche Russell may refer to: People * Russell (given name) * Russell (surname) * Lady Russell (disambiguation) * Lord Russell (disambiguation) Places Australia *Russell, Australian Capital Territory *Russell Island, Queensland (disambiguation) **R ...

" bar:oneill from: 1950 till: 1954 color:vadm text:"

Merlin O'Neill Merlin O'Neill (30 October 1898 – 1 March 1981) served as the tenth Commandant of the Coast Guard, Commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1 January 1950 to 1 June 1954. Born in North Kenova, Ohio, in 1898, O'Neill was commissioned in ...

" bar:richmond from: 1954 till: 1960 color:vadm bar:richmond from: 1960 till: 1962 color:adm text:"

Alfred C. Richmond Alfred Carroll Richmond (18 January 1902 – 15 March 1984) 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 Gu ...

" bar:hirshfield from: 1960 till: 1962 color:vcg text:" James A. Hirshfield" bar:roland from: 1962 till: 1962 color:vcg bar:roland from: 1962 till: 1966 color:adm text:" Edwin J. Roland" bar:morrison from: 1962 till: 1964 color:vcg text:" Donald M. Morrison" bar:shields from: 1964 till: 1966 color:vcg text:" William D. Shields" bar:trimble from: 1966 till: 1970 color:vcg text:" Paul E. Trimble" bar:sargent from: 1970 till: 1974 color:vcg text:"

Thomas R. Sargent III Thomas Reece Sargent III (December 20, 1914 – May 29, 2010) was a vice admiral and Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. Biography Sargent was born on December 20, 1914 in London, England. He became a naturalized citizen of the ...

" bar:whalen from: 1972 till: 1974 color:pacarea text:" Mark A. Whalen" bar:engel from: 1972 till: 1974 color:lantarea text:" Benjamin F. Engel" bar:perry from: 1974 till: 1978 color:vcg text:" Ellis L. Perry" bar:rea from: 1974 till: 1978 color:lantarea text:" William F. Rea III" bar:mcclelland from: 1974 till: 1976 color:pacarea text:" Joseph J. McClelland" bar:wagner from: 1976 till: 1978 color:pacarea text:" Austin C. Wagner" bar:scarborough from: 1978 till: 1982 color:vcg text:" Robert H. Scarborough Jr." bar:price from: 1978 till: 1981 color:lantarea text:" Robert I. Price" bar:gracey from: 1978 till: 1981 color:pacarea bar:gracey from: 1981 till: 1982 color:lantarea bar:gracey from: 1982 till: 1986 color:adm text:" James S. Gracey" bar:stewart from: 1981 till: 1982 color:pacarea text:" James P. Stewart" bar:caldwell from: 1982 till: 1984 color:lantarea text:" Wayne E. Caldwell" bar:stabile from: 1982 till: 1986 color:vcg text:" Benedict L. Stabile" bar:larkin from: 1982 till: 1984 color:pacarea text:" Charles E. Larkin" bar:yost from: 1984 till: 1986 color:lantarea bar:yost from: 1986 till: 1990 color:adm text:" Paul A. Yost Jr." bar:costello from: 1984 till: 1988 color:pacarea text:" John D. Costello" bar:irwin from: 1986 till: 1988 color:vcg bar:irwin from: 1988 till: 1989 color:lantarea bar:irwin from: 1989 till: 1991 color:vadm text:"

James C. Irwin James Clarence Irwin (June 7, 1929 – March 21, 2018) 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 ...

" bar:thompson from: 1986 till: 1988 color:lantarea text:" Donald C. Thompson" bar:robbins from: 1988 till: 1990 color:pacarea bar:lusk from: 1988 till: 1990 color:vcg text:" Clyde T. Lusk Jr." bar:robbins from: 1990 till: 1993 color:vadm text:" Clyde E. Robbins" bar:thorsen from: 1989 till: 1991 color:lantarea text:" Howard B. Thorsen" bar:daniell from: 1990 till: 1992 color:vcg bar:daniell from: 1992 till: 1994 color:pacarea text:" Martin H. Daniell Jr." bar:beran from: 1990 till: 1992 color:pacarea text:" A. Bruce Beran" bar:welling from: 1991 till: 1994 color:lantarea text:" Paul A. Welling" bar:nelson from: 1992 till: 1994 color:vcg text:" Robert T. Nelson" bar:kramek from: 1992 till: 1994 color:staff bar:kramek from: 1994 till: 1998 color:adm text:"

Robert E. Kramek Robert Edward Kramek (December 15, 1939 – October 20, 2016) was an admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 20th commandant from 1994 to 1998. During his tenure as commandant, he successfully led the service through difficul ...

" bar:henn from: 1994 till: 1996 color:vcg text:" Arthur D. Henn" bar:loy from: 1994 till: 1996 color:lantarea bar:loy from: 1996 till: 1998 color:staff bar:loy from: 1998 till: 2002 color:adm text:" James M. Loy" bar:williams from: 1994 till: 1996 color:staff bar:williams from: 1996 till: 1997 color:lantarea text:" Kent H. Williams" bar:herr from: 1994 till: 1996 color:pacarea bar:herr from: 1996 till: 1998 color:vcg text:" Richard D. Herr" bar:rufe from: 1996 till: 1997 color:pacarea bar:rufe from: 1997 till: 1999 color:lantarea text:" Roger T. Rufe Jr." bar:card from: 1997 till: 1998 color:pacarea bar:card from: 1998 till: 2000 color:vcg text:" James C. Card" bar:josiah from: 1998 till: 2002 color:staff text:" Timothy W. Josiah" bar:collins from: 1998 till: 2000 color:pacarea bar:collins from: 2000 till: 2002 color:vcg bar:collins from: 2002 till: 2006 color:adm text:"

Thomas H. Collins Thomas Hansen Collins (born 25 June 1946) is a former Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 22nd Commandant of the Coast Guard, commandant from May 2002 to May 2006. Early life and education A nativ ...

" bar:shkor from: 1999 till: 2001 color:lantarea text:" John E. Shkor" bar:riutta from: 2000 till: 2002 color:pacarea text:" Ernest R. Riutta" bar:allen from: 2001 till: 2002 color:lantarea bar:allen from: 2002 till: 2006 color:staff bar:allen from: 2006 till: 2010 color:adm text:"

Thad W. Allen Thad William Allen (born 16 January 1949) is a former Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Coast Guard, commandant from 2006 to 2010. Allen is best known for his widely prai ...

" bar:hull from: 2002 till: 2004 color:lantarea text:" James D. Hull" bar:barrett from: 2002 till: 2004 color:vcg text:"

Thomas J. Barrett Thomas J. Barrett (born January 15, 1947) is a former United States Coast Guard officer and former Deputy Secretary of Transportation from 2007 until 2009. Career Barrett earned a B.S. in Biology from Le Moyne College, Syracuse, New York and ...

" bar:cross from: 2002 till: 2004 color:pacarea bar:cross from: 2004 till: 2006 color:vcg text:" Terry M. Cross" bar:johnson from: 2004 till: 2006 color:pacarea text:" Harvey E. Johnson Jr." bar:crea from: 2004 till: 2006 color:lantarea bar:crea from: 2006 till: 2009 color:vcg text:" Vivien S. Crea" bar:papp from: 2006 till: 2008 color:staff bar:papp from: 2008 till: 2010 color:lantarea bar:papp from: 2010 till: 2014 color:adm text:"

Robert J. Papp Jr. Admiral Robert Joseph Papp Jr. (born 25 March 1953) is a retired Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 24th Commandant of the Coast Guard, commandant from 2010 to 2014. He led the largest component o ...

" bar:peterman from: 2006 till: 2008 color:lantarea text:" D. Brian Peterman" bar:wurster from: 2006 till: 2008 color:pacarea text:" Charles D. Wurster" bar:pekoske from: 2008 till: 2009 color:pacarea bar:pekoske from: 2009 till: 2010 color:vcg text:" David P. Pekoske" bar:pearson from: 2008 till: 2009 color:staff text:" Clifford I. Pearson" bar:breckenridge from: 2009 till: 2010 color:pacarea text:"

Jody A. Breckenridge 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 pe ...

" bar:currier from: 2009 till: 2011 color:staff bar:currier from: 2011 till: 2012 color:staff bar:currier from: 2012 till: 2014 color:vcg text:" John P. Currier" bar:parker from: 2010 till: 2014 color:lantarea text:" Robert C. Parker" bar:brown from: 2010 till: 2012 color:pacarea bar:brown from: 2012 till: 2014 color:staff text:"

Manson K. Brown Manson K. Brown (born 1956) is an American retired U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral (VADM) and public official. His top military decoration is the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal. In 1994, he became the first recipient of the Coast Guard Cap ...

" bar:briceohara from: 2010 till: 2012 color:vcg text:" Sally Brice-O'Hara" bar:salerno from: 2011 till: 2012 color:staff text:" Brian M. Salerno" bar:zukunft from: 2012 till: 2014 color:pacarea bar:zukunft from: 2014 till: 2018 color:adm text:" Paul K. Zukunft" bar:neffenger from: 2012 till: 2014 color:staff bar:neffenger from: 2014 till: 2015 color:vcg text:" Peter V. Neffenger" bar:ray from: 2014 till: 2016 color:pacarea bar:ray from: 2016 till: 2018 color:staff bar:ray from: 2018 till: 2021 color:adm text:" Charles W. Ray" bar:michel from: 2014 till: 2015 color:staff bar:michel from: 2015 till: 2016 color:vcg bar:michel from: 2016 till: 2018 color:adm text:"

Charles D. Michel Charles David Michel (born April 7, 1963) is a former United States Coast Guard admiral who last served as the 30th vice commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. He is the first vice commandant to hold the rank of admiral while in office. Originally ...

" bar:lee from: 2014 till: 2016 color:lantarea text:" William D. Lee" bar:stosz from: 2015 till: 2018 color:staff text:" Sandra L. Stosz" bar:midgette from: 2016 till: 2016 color:staff bar:midgette from: 2016 till: 2018 color:pacarea text:" Fred M. Midgette" bar:lytle from: 2016 till: 2018 color:vadm text:" Marshall B. Lytle III" bar:schultz from: 2016 till: 2018 color:lantarea bar:schultz from: 2018 till: 2022 color:adm text:" Karl L. Schultz" bar:buschman from: 2018 till: 2020 color:lantarea bar:buschman from: 2020 till: 2022 color:staff text:" Scott A. Buschman" bar:mcallister from: 2018 till: 2021 color:staff bar:mcallister from: 2021 till: 2022 color:pacarea text:" Michael F. McAllister" bar:fagan from: 2018 till: 2021 color:pacarea bar:fagan from: 2021 till: $now color:adm text:"

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 four ...

" bar:abel from: 2018 till: 2020 color:staff text:" Daniel B. Abel" bar:poulin from: 2020 till: 2022 color:lantarea bar:poulin from: 2022 till: $now color:adm text:"

Steven D. Poulin Steven D. Poulin (born January 1, 1962) is a United States Coast Guard admiral who serves as the 33rd Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard since May 31, 2022. He most recently served as commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area and Coast Guard D ...

" bar:thomas from: 2021 till: $now color:staff text:" Paul F. Thomas" bar:lunday from: 2022 till: $now color:lantarea text:" Kevin E. Lunday" bar:gautier from: 2022 till: $now color:staff text:"

Peter W. Gautier Peter Williams Gautier (born September 25, 1965) is a United States Coast Guard Vice admiral (United States), vice admiral who serves as the deputy commandant for operations. He previously served as the deputy commander of the Coast Guard Pacifi ...

" bar:tiongson from: 2022 till: $now color:pacarea text:" Andrew J. Tiongson"

History

World War II

The first vice admiral in the Coast Guard was appointed in March 1942, following the United States entry into

, when

Coast Guard commandant 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 Unit ...

and two Navy officers were nominated to be temporary vice admirals under a 1941 statute that authorized an unlimited number of appointments in all grades for temporary service during a

national emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to be able to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state du ...

.Act of July 24, 1941 (). The statute technically created temporary grades only up to rear admiral, but the Senate confirmed all three officers as vice admirals anyway. Three years later, Waesche became the first four-star officer in the Coast Guard when the commandants of the Coast Guard and Marine Corps were both authorized that rank until six months after the end of the war.Acts of March 21, 1945 () and March 21, 1945 ().

Postwar

After World War II, Congress consolidated all of the various

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

s governing the Coast Guard into a single

positive law Positive laws ( la, links=no, ius positum) are human-made laws that oblige or specify an action. Positive law also describes the establishment of specific rights for an individual or group. Etymologically, the name derives from the verb ''to posit ...

Title 14 of the United States Code Title 14 of the United States Code is a positive law title of the United States Code concerning the United States Coast Guard. *Subtitle I—Establishment, Powers, Duties, and Administration *Subtitle II—Personnel *Subtitle III—Coast Guard ...

, which lowered the rank of future commandants to vice admiral. In 1960, Congress restored the commandant's rank to admiral and raised the

to vice admiral. Congress gave three-star rank to the commanders of

Coast Guard Atlantic Area Coast Guard Atlantic Area (LANTAREA) is an area command of United States Coast Guard that oversees all Coast Guard domestic operations east of the Rocky Mountains, including the Caribbean and foreign areas of interest in Europe, Africa, and South ...

and Coast Guard Pacific Area in 1972.Acts of August 4, 1949 (); May 14, 1960 (); and October 2, 1972 (). James_Clarence_Irwin_USCG_VADM

Initially most vice admirals retired after their first three-star assignment. Only three of the eight commandants appointed after 1960 ever served as vice admirals, the other five being promoted directly from rear admiral. As late as 1990, rear admiral

J. William Kime John William Kime (15 July 1934 – 14 September 2006) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Coast Guard who served as the 19th Commandant of the Coast Guard, commandant from 1990 to 1994. Early life and career Kime was ...

was selected for commandant over all three vice admirals. Follow-on assignments were rare until 1988, when vice commandant

was transferred to command the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, breaking the tradition that vice commandants retired with their commandants.Coast Guard Transfers, Promotes Flag Officers
U.S. Department of Transportation press release, February 19, 1988. Irwin retired in 1989 and was recalled to active duty to serve as the three-star commander of Joint Task Force Four, the predecessor of

Joint Interagency Task Force South Joint Interagency Task Force South is a United States multiservice, multiagency task force based at Naval Air Station Key West (Truman Annex), Key West, Florida. It conducts counter illicit trafficking operations, intelligence fusion and multi-s ...

.ALCOAST 107/18 - Mar 2018: Death of Retired Flag Officer
U.S. Coast Guard bulletin, March 27, 2018. Reappointments as vice admiral became more common after a fourth three-star position was created for the chief of staff of the Coast Guard in 1993.Act of December 20, 1993 ().

21st century

In 2010, to support the Coast Guard's modernization plan, Congress removed the requirement that vice admirals be assigned as area commanders or chief of staff of the Coast Guard, and simply authorized the President to designate four positions to carry three-star rank in addition to the vice commandant. The chief of staff of the Coast Guard became the deputy commandant for mission support, and the deputy commandant for operations received a third star.Act of October 15, 2010 oast Guard Authorization Act of 2010(). The

Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 is an act of the United States that governs the activities of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the Federal Maritime Commission (FMC). The act also authorizes appropriations totaling about $17.5 b ...

elevated the vice commandant to admiral and authorized Coast Guard officers to serve as additional vice admirals in positions outside the Coast Guard without having to retire and be recalled to active duty in that rank like Irwin and Clyde E. Robbins, the first director of intelligence and security for the Department of Transportation.Act of February 8, 2016 oast Guard Authorization Act of 2015(). In 2016, Marshall B. Lytle III became the director of

command, control, communications and computers Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or en ...

(C4) and cyber and chief information officer on the

Joint 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 first Coast Guard officer to compete successfully for a joint three-star position that traditionally rotated between the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps.

Tombstone vice admirals

From 1923 to 1959, Coast Guard officers could retire with a

to the rank and sometimes the pay of the next higher grade, if they had 40 years of service or had been specially commended for the performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. More than a dozen rear admirals received tombstone promotions to vice admiral, and one vice admiral,

, received a tombstone promotion to admiral. Tombstone promotions for years of service ended on November 1, 1949, and for combat citations on November 1, 1959.Acts of August 4, 1949 () and August 11, 1959 ().

Legislative history

The following list of Congressional legislation includes all

acts of Congress An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...

pertaining to appointments to the grade of vice admiral in the United States Coast Guard. Each entry lists an act of Congress, its citation in the

United States Statutes at Large The ''United States Statutes at Large'', commonly referred to as the ''Statutes at Large'' and abbreviated Stat., are an official record of Acts of Congress and concurrent resolutions passed by the United States Congress. Each act and resolutio ...

, and a summary of the act's relevance.

Notes

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Coast Guard vice admirals Coast Guard admirals