Paul Frederick Zukunft (born 30 January 1955) is a retired admiral 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, mu ...

who served as the 25th

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 ...

. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Commandant, with the rank of admiral, in May 2014 and relieved Robert J. Papp Jr. as commandant on 30 May 2014. Prior to his selection as Commandant, he served as Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. In this position, Zukunft was the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions within the half of the world that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. He concurrently served as Commander, Defense Force West and provided U.S. Coast Guard mission support to the U.S. Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders. Previous flag assignments include The Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship; Director of Response Policy, Assistant Commandant for Capability; Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District; and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West; Federal Onscene Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, and the Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area. Zukunft wears the permanent

Cutterman Insignia The cutterman insignia is a device awarded by the United States Coast Guard to represent service aboard a Coast Guard cutter. The pin is awarded on a temporary basis after six months of sea time, qualification in required watch stations, successful ...

and is a certified NIMS ICS Type I Incident Commander. His personal awards include the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legion of Merit, and five Meritorious Service Medals with "O" device among others.

Early life and education

Zukunft was born on 30 January 1955 in New Haven and is a native of

North Branford, Connecticut North Branford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 13,544 at the 2020 census. The town is primarily known for agriculture and for other points of interest including Lake Gaillard and Northford Ice Pavili ...

. He 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 G ...

in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Government. He attended

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate program ...

in 1988 where he received his Master of Arts degree in Management, and the

U.S. Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associa ...

in 1997 graduating with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is a graduate of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies Executive Seminar and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government National Preparedness Leadership Initiative course.

Career

U.S. Coast Guard

Zukunft was promoted to flag rank in 2006. His six previous flag assignments also include The Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship; Director of Response Policy, Assistant Commandant for Capability; Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West. Additionally, Zukunft served as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon Spill of National Significance in 2010, and directed more than 47,000 responders, 6,500 vessels and 120 aircraft during one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history. Hurricane Maria Response (37445445842)

Zukunft has served at sea, commanding , , and . Zukunft's senior staff assignments include Chief of Operations, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Chief of Operations Oversight, Coast Guard Atlantic Area where he directly supervised all major cutter operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He also served as the Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu.

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard

On 28 February 2014,

United States 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 ...

Jeh Johnson Jeh Charles Johnson ( "Jay"; born September 11, 1957) is an American lawyer and former government official. He was United States Secretary of Homeland Security from 2013 to 2017. From 2009 to 2012, Johnson was the general counsel of the Departm ...

announced that U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

intended to nominate Zukunft for the position of

Commandant of the U.S. 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 ...

, succeeding Admiral Robert J. Papp Jr. He was confirmed by the Senate on 15 May 2014, and frocked to full Admiral the same day. He assumed the office of Commandant on 30 May 2014.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Zukunft, Paul F. 1955 births Commandants of the United States Coast Guard Living people Naval War College alumni People from North Branford, Connecticut Military personnel from Connecticut Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Coast Guard Academy alumni United States Coast Guard admirals Webster University alumni