Coast Guard Pacific Area & Defense Forces West (PACAREA) is an Area Command of the

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 ...

, a regional command element and force provider tasked with maritime safety, security, and stewardship throughout the Pacific. The command's area of responsibility encompasses six of the seven continents, 71 countries, and more than 74 million square miles of ocean—from the U.S. Western States to the waters off the east coast of Africa, and from the Arctic to Antarctica. Pacific Area has primary responsibilities for all Coast Guard operations throughout this area of responsibility.

Organizational structure

Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area is concurrently Commander of Defense Forces West, and is located at

Coast Guard Island Coast Guard Base Alameda also referred to as Coast Guard Island is an artificial island in the Oakland Estuary between Oakland and Alameda, California. It is home to several major United States Coast Guard commands and cutters, including t ...

in Alameda,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Pacific Area is divided into four operational regions called

districts A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions ...

, each overseen by a two-star

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

. The 11th Coast Guard District is co-located with Pacific Area and oversees all Coast Guard operations from the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

border, south to Guatemala and out 200 miles to sea. The 13th Coast Guard District is headquartered in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington and maintains responsibility for Coast Guard operations throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 17th Coast Guard District is based in

Juneau Juneau ( ; ), officially the City and Borough of Juneau, is the capital of the U.S. state of Alaska, located along the Gastineau Channel and the Alaskan panhandle. Juneau was named the capital of Alaska in 1906, when the government of wha ...

, with responsibility for all Coast Guard operations in Alaska. The 14th Coast Guard District has responsibility for Coast Guard operations throughout a 12.2 million square mile region that encompasses the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands () are an archipelago of eight major volcanic islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the Pacific Ocean, North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the Hawaii (island), island of Hawaii in the south to nort ...

Guam Guam ( ; ) is an island that is an Territories of the United States, organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. Guam's capital is Hagåtña, Guam, Hagåtña, and the most ...

American Samoa American Samoa is an Territories of the United States, unincorporated and unorganized territory of the United States located in the Polynesia region of the Pacific Ocean, South Pacific Ocean. Centered on , it is southeast of the island count ...

, and Coast Guard activities in

Saipan Saipan () is the largest island and capital of the Northern Mariana Islands, an unincorporated Territories of the United States, territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean. According to 2020 estimates by the United States Cens ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

, and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. The Pacific Area and its subordinate units employ 13,000 active duty and reserve members, Coast Guard Auxiliarists, and civilian employees.

Operational assets

In addition to assets at each of its subordinate units, the Pacific Area command's operational assets include: * 6 National Security Cutters * 8

High Endurance Cutter The designation of high endurance cutter (WHEC) was created in 1965 when the United States Coast Guard adopted its own designation system. High endurance cutters encompass the largest cutters previously designated by the United States Navy as g ...

s * 4 Medium Endurance Cutters * 3 Polar Ice Breakers * 29 Patrol Boats * 12

Buoy Tender A buoy tender is a type of vessel used to maintain and replace navigational buoys. This term can also apply to an actual person who does this work. The United States Coast Guard uses buoy tenders to accomplish one of its primary missions of main ...

s * 11

Sectors Sector may refer to: Places * Sector, West Virginia, U.S. Geometry * Circular sector, the portion of a disc enclosed by two radii and a circular arc * Hyperbolic sector, a region enclosed by two radii and a hyperbolic arc * Spherical sector, a ...

* 10 Air Stations * 13 HC-130 Fixed-Wing Aircraft * 26 HH-65 Dolphin Helicopters * 13 HH-60 Jayhawk Helicopters Pacific Area also oversees the Deployable Specialized Forces (DSFs), which include the

National Strike Force The Deployable Specialized Forces (DSF) —formerly Deployable Operations Group— are part of the United States Coast Guard that provide highly equipped, trained and organized deployable specialized forces, to the Coast Guard, United States Depart ...

, Tactical Law Enforcement Teams, Port Security Units, and

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 Marine (ocean), maritime assets. It is also a harbor and inshore patrol and security team that includes Anti ...

List of commanders

* Thomas H. Collins, 1998 * Charles E. Larkin, 2000 *

Harvey E. Johnson Jr. Harvey Elwood Johnson Jr., retired Vice Admiral, United States Coast Guard, is the President of Humanitarian Services for the American Red Cross. Previously, Johnson was the former Vice President for National Preparedness and Response Solutions at ...

, June 2004 * Charles D. Wurster, May 2006 * David Pekoske, 29 May 2008 * Jody A. Breckenridge, 10 July 2009 * Manson K. Brown, 18 May 2010 * Paul F. Zukunft, 27 April 2012 * Charles W. Ray, 22 April 2014 * Fred M. Midgette, 15 August 2016 * Linda L. Fagan, 8 June 2018 * Peter W. Gautier, 16 June 2021 (acting) * Michael F. McAllister, 30 June 2021 * Andrew J. Tiongson, 8 July 2022

References

{{authority control Pacific Area Military units and formations in California Alameda, California

Organizational structure

Operational assets

List of commanders

See also

References