Terry M. Cross (born 1947) is a retired

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 Admiral who served as

Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard 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. Since 1929, 31 officers have served as Vice Commandant, or, as the position was referred to b ...

from July 2004 until June 2006. He served as the Coast Guard's second in command and was the Agency Acquisition Executive.

Career

Cross graduated from 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 ...

in 1970 with a B.S. degree in

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

. He also earned a master's degree in Industrial Administration from

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Krannert School of Management The Krannert School of Management is the school of management at Purdue University, a public research university in West Lafayette, Indiana. It offers instruction at the undergraduate, master's, and doctoral levels. History The School of Ind ...

and is a graduate of the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

. Some of his early operational assignments include service as a Deck Watch Officer aboard the cutter USCGC ''McCulloch'', Operations Officer of

Air Station Cape Cod Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod is a United States Coast Guard air station located on Joint Base Cape Cod in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It operates from New York City to the Canada–US border. It was founded in 1970 as a replacement to Coast Guard ...

, Massachusetts, and Commanding Officer of Air Station San Francisco, California. Staff assignments included service as the Chief of Staff, Atlantic Area; Chief, Office of Programs; Chief, Office of Budget; and Chief, Office of Acquisition Resource Management at Coast Guard Headquarters. He served as Commander, Pacific Area. VADM Cross was responsible for all Coast Guard operations west of the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

and throughout the

Pacific Basin The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

, an area encompassing over 73 million square miles. Under his leadership, Pacific Area units established the first Coast Guard maritime intelligence fusion center, participated in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...

and Operation Liberty Shield, and set new records for illegal drug seizures. VADM Cross served as the Assistant Commandant for Operations, where he was responsible for management oversight of all Coast Guard operating programs, including maritime safety, law enforcement, intelligence, and national defense. He initiated the Coast Guard's Maritime Domain Awareness initiative, succeeded in gaining formal membership in the Intelligence Community for the Coast Guard and led efforts that rapidly supported the Coast Guard's Homeland Security Strategy, including the development of deployable

Maritime Safety and Security Team A Maritime Safety and Security Team, or MSST, is a counter-terrorism team of the United States Coast Guard established to protect local maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes detecting and, if ne ...

s. Cross's other flag assignments included service as Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District; Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard District and Director of Operations Policy at Coast Guard Headquarters.

External links

Official website of the Vice Commandant
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross, Terry M. 1947 births Living people People from Richmond, Indiana United States Coast Guard admirals Vice Commandants of the United States Coast Guard United States Coast Guard Academy alumni Krannert School of Management alumni National War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Coast Guard Aviation Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal