Vivien S. Crea (born 1952) was the 25th

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 ...

under Admiral Thad W. Allen. Vice Commandant is the second highest position in the Coast Guard, and she was the first woman to hold it. She is the former Commander of the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and was confirmed by the Senate to her historic post in June 2006. Crea retired on August 7, 2009, and was replaced by VADM

David Pekoske David Peter Pekoske (born May 5, 1955) is an American government official and retired U.S. Coast Guard vice admiral who has served as the seventh administrator of the Transportation Security Administration in the United States Department of Hom ...

. She previously became the first female in the U.S. Armed Forces to serve as a military aide to a President in 1984. Crea later became the first woman to command an air station when she took over Air Station Detroit in 1992. In 2000 she became the first woman to attain

flag rank A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which the officer exercises command. The term is used differently in different countries: *In many countries ...

in 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, mu ...

. In 2006 Crea became the first female

and the Coast Guard’s first female vice admiral. She later became the first woman to be recognized as the USCG Ancient Albatross in 2008. In 2010, she became the first Coast Guard aviator to be inducted into the

Women in Aviation International Women in Aviation International (WAI) is an American nonprofit organization, which provides networking, education, mentoring, and scholarship opportunities for women and men in careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. It aims to promote ...

Pioneer Hall of Fame.

Background and education

Crea earned a master's degree from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

, as well as one from Central Michigan University, and a bachelor's degree from the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

Career

As Lieutenant Commander, she became the first woman from any service, as well as the first service member from the US Coast Guard to serve as the Presidential Military Aide, where she carried the

nuclear football The nuclear football (also known as the atomic football, the president's emergency satchel, the Presidential Emergency Satchel, the button, the black box, or just the football) is a briefcase, the contents of which are to be used by the presid ...

for President Ronald Reagan for three years. Crea assumed command 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 ...

on July 16, 2004. This post is the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility spanning five Coast Guard Districts, over covering the Eastern and Midwestern United States from 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 ...

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, out across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

and through the Caribbean Sea, involving over 33,000 military and civilian employees, and 30,000 auxiliarists. She served concurrently as Commander, Coast Guard Defense Force East. Crea previously served as Commander,

First Coast Guard District This article contains a list of United States Coast Guard stations in the United States within the United States Coast Guard's Organization of the United States Coast Guard#Regional responsibilities, nine districts. There are currently many st ...

, overseeing all Coast Guard operations in the Northeastern United States, from the Maine-Canada border to Northern

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Prior to that she served as Director of Information and Technology of the Coast Guard as chief information officer and oversaw the Coast Guard’s Research and Development program. Earlier assignments include Chief, Office of Programs in Coast Guard Headquarters, Commanding Officer of Air Station Clearwater, Executive Assistant to the Commandant of the Coast Guard; Commanding Officer, Air Station Detroit; Operations Officer, Air Station Borinquen,

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...

; Coast Guard Aide to President Reagan; and many other operational assignments. As a Coast Guard aviator, Vice Admiral Crea has flown the C-130 Hercules turboprop,

HH-65 Dolphin The Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin is a twin-engined helicopter operated by the United States Coast Guard (USCG) for medevac-capable search and rescue (SAR) and armed Airborne Use of Force missions. It is a variant of the French-built Eurocopter AS ...

helicopter, and Gulfstream II jet. Crea was commissioned an Ensign in the Coast Guard Reserve upon graduation from

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Ty ...

(OCS) at Reserve Training Center,

Yorktown, Virginia Yorktown is a census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Virginia. It is the county seat of York County, one of the eight original shires formed in colonial Virginia in 1682. Yorktown's population was 195 as of the 2010 census, while York Co ...

in December, 1973.

Military awards

During Crea's tenure as Vice Commandant, she held the title of Ancient Albatross, the longest serving aviator in the Coast Guard.

Notes

External links

Official website of the Vice Commandant

Background and education

Career

Military awards

See also

Notes

External links

Further reading