Charles David Michel (born April 7, 1963) is a former

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many 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. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

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 a

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

when he assumed office on August 6, 2015, Michel was promoted to four-star admiral on May 24, 2016, when the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015 elevated the statutory rank for the position to

. Michel is also the first career

judge advocate Judge-advocates are military lawyers serving in different capacities in the military justice systems of different jurisdictions. Australia The Australian Army Legal Corps (AALC) consists of Regular and Reserve commissioned officers that prov ...

in any of the

armed forces A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a ...

to achieve four-star rank.Charles D. Michel, Notable People Biographies, U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office Michel retired from the Coast Guard on May 24, 2018, after over 33 years of service.

Early life and education

Michel was born in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, Oklahoma, Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in western Oklahoma, approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton metropolitan ar ...

, in 1963 and graduated from Brandon High School at

Brandon, Florida Brandon is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tampa–St. Petersburg–Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area. The p ...

in 1981. Michel graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a degree in

marine engineering Marine engineering is the engineering of boats, ships, submarines, and any other marine vessel. Here it is also taken to include the engineering of other ocean systems and structures – referred to in certain academic and professional circ ...

with high honors in 1985. He also graduated in 1992 ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' from the

University of Miami School of Law The University of Miami School of Law (Miami Law or UM Law) is the law school of the University of Miami, a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. Founded in 1926, it is the oldest law school in South Florida, graduating its first ...

as the

salutatorian Salutatorian is an academic title given in Armenia, the Philippines, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States to the second-highest-ranked graduate of the entire graduating class of a specific discipline. Only the valedictorian is ranked higher. ...

and is a member of

The Florida Bar The Florida Bar is the integrated, or unified bar organization for the state of Florida. It is the third largest such bar in the United States.

Career

Michel has served on four cutters including a tour aboard as deck watch officer, as executive officer, and tours as commanding officer on and . Other assignments have included a tour as staff attorney for the

Eighth Coast Guard District Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

and assignments at Coast Guard Headquarters in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

as head of the operations division the Office of Maritime and International Law and a later tour as chief of the same office. Michel also served a tour as legislative counsel for the office of congressional and governmental affairs. His flag assignments include director, governmental and public affairs, military advisor to 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 ...

, director,

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 ...

, deputy commander, U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area, and deputy commandant of operations at Coast Guard Headquarters.

Awards and decorations

Dates of rank

Personal life

In addition to his military awards, Michel was the

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

Young Lawyer of the Year for the Coast Guard in 1995, and the Judge Advocates Association Career Armed Services Attorney of the Year for the U.S. Coast Guard in 2000. Also, Michel has received the USCG Public Service Commendation certificate.

Notes

;Citations ;References cited * *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Charles D. United States Coast Guard Academy alumni University of Miami School of Law alumni Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Lawton, Oklahoma 1963 births People from Brandon, Florida Recipients of the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Vice Commandants of the United States Coast Guard