The commandant of the Coast Guard is the service chief and highest-ranking member 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 ...

. The commandant is an admiral, appointed for a four-year term by the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

upon confirmation by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. The commandant is assisted by a vice commandant, who is also an admiral, and two area commanders (U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area and U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area) and two deputy commandants (deputy commandant for operations and deputy commandant for mission support), all of whom are vice admirals. Though the

is one of the six

military branches Military branch (also service branch or armed service) is according to common standard a subdivision of the national armed forces of a sovereign nation or state. Types of branches Unified armed forces The Canadian Armed Forces is the unifi ...

of the United States, unlike the other service chiefs, the commandant of the Coast Guard is not a member of the

Joint Chiefs of 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 commandant is, however, entitled to the same supplemental pay as each member of the Joint Chiefs, per ($4,000 per annum in 2009), and is accorded privilege of the floor under Senate Rule XXIII(1) as a ''de facto'' JCS member during presidential addresses. The commandant maintains operational command over the Coast Guard, unlike the chiefs of the other services, who serve only administrative roles. Thus, while the operational

chain of command A command hierarchy is a group of people who carry out orders based on others' authority within the group. It can be viewed as part of a power structure, in which it is usually seen as the most vulnerable and also the most powerful part. Milit ...

for the other services (per the Goldwater–Nichols Act) goes from the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

through the secretary of defense to the combatant commanders of the

unified combatant command A unified combatant command (CCMD), also referred to as a combatant command, is a joint military command of the United States Department of Defense that is composed of units from two or more service branches of the United States Armed Forces, an ...

command and control 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 ...

of the Coast Guard goes from the president through the

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 ...

(or secretary of defense, when the Coast Guard is acting as a service in the

Department of the Navy Navy Department or Department of the Navy may refer to: * United States Department of the Navy, * Navy Department (Ministry of Defence), in the United Kingdom, 1964-1997 * Confederate States Department of the Navy, 1861-1865 * Department of the ...

) through the commandant. Prior to the creation of the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...

in 2003, the

operated under and the commandant reported to the

secretary of transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

from 1966 to 2003, and the

secretary of the treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

from 1790 until 1966. The current and 27th commandant is Admiral Linda L. Fagan, who assumed office on 1 June 2022. She is the first woman to serve in the role.

History

The title of

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 ...

dates to a 1923 act that distributed the commissioned line and engineer officers of the U.S. Coast Guard in grades. Before 1923, the rank and title of the head of the Coast Guard was "

captain-commandant ''Captain-commandant'' is a rank currently used in the Belgian Armed Forces and formerly used in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and its successor, the United States Coast Guard. Belgian Armed Forces Captain-commandant is a company grade ...

." The rank "captain-commandant" originated in the

Revenue Cutter Service ) , colors= , colors_label= , march= , mascot= , equipment= , equipment_label= , battles= , anniversaries=4 August , decorations= , battle_honours= , battle_honours_label= , disbanded=28 January 1915 , flying_hours= , website= , commander1= , co ...

in 1908. The original holder of that rank was the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service (also known as the Revenue Marine). The Coast Guard traces the lineage of commandants back to Captain

Leonard G. Shepard Leonard G. Shepard (November 10, 1846March 1, 1895), was a captain in the United States Revenue Cutter Service and was appointed in 1889 by United States Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of the Treasury William Windom as the first military hea ...

, chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau, even though he never officially received the title of captain-commandant. The captain-commandant position was created in 1908 when Captain Worth G. Ross was the first to actually hold the position. Although he was retired, Ross's predecessor, Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, was elevated to the rank of captain-commandant. Shoemaker's predecessor, Captain Shepard, had already died and was not elevated to the rank.

Chiefs of the Revenue Marine Bureau

Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau. *Captain Alexander V. Fraser, USRM, 1843–1848Noble, p 24 *Captain Richard Evans, USRM, 1848–1849Noble, p 21 In 1849 the Revenue Marine Bureau was dissolved, and the Revenue Marine fell under the control the commissioner of customs until the Revenue Marine Bureau was again established in 1869. *N. Broughton Devereux, 1869–1871 *

Sumner I. Kimball Sumner Increase Kimball (September 2, 1834 – June 20, 1923) was the organizer of the United States Life-Saving Service and the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service from 1878–1915. Originally a lawyer and a legislative administr ...

, 1871–1878 *Ezra Clark, 1878–1885 *Peter Bonnett, 1885–1889

List of commandants

There have been 27 commandants of the Coast Guard since the office of chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau was transferred to a military billet. This includes Admiral Linda L. Fagan, the current commandant.

Timeline

Notes

Footnotes

Citations

References cited

* * * * *

External links

Commandant's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commandant Of The Coast Guard United States Coast Guard job titles