Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed the duties of the 23rd Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard on May 25th, 2006. To many, he is considered “The Face of the Coast Guard.”

Admiral Allen leads the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), comprised of about 40,150 men and women on Active Duty, 7,000 civilians, 8,000 Reservists and 34,000 volunteer Auxiliarists. The Coast Guard is America’s oldest continuous seagoing service and is a Federal law enforcement agency as well as a branch of the armed forces. The Coast Guard serves the American people by saving lives and property at sea; ensuring the safety of thousands of professional mariners and millions of recreational and commercial vessels; protecting our ports and maritime infrastructure from terrorism, securing our borders, maintaining aids to navigation, responding to natural disasters, defending our Nation, conducting humanitarian operations, protecting our marine environment, and keeping shipping routes in the Arctic and Great Lakes open and clear of hazards.

Admiral Allen is known for his leadership in times of crises and his tremendous ability to effect change in an ever changing world. Nowhere was this more evident than in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, when he served as the Principal Federal Official for response and recovery operations, while also serving as the Coast Guard Chief of Staff. Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he was responsible for leading Coast Guard forces as Commander of the Atlantic Area and U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic.

In his thirty eight years of service, Admiral Allen has held operational command both at sea and ashore, conducting missions to support the maritime safety, security and environmental stewardship interests of the Nation. As a Flag Officer, he commanded the Seventh Coast Guard District, where he directed all operations in the Southeastern United States and Caribbean. He served aboard cutters Androscoggin and Gallatin and commanded the Citrus. He wore a dual hat as Commanding Officer of Group Long Island Sound and Captain of the Port, and he commanded Group Atlantic City and Long-Range Aids to Navigation (LORAN) Station Lampang, Thailand. Today, Admiral Allen is leading the Coast Guard through significant modernization to better organize, train, equip, and deploy our men and women to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

Admiral Allen graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971, and holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University, and received their Alumni Achievement Award in 2006. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. In 2007, Admiral Allen was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Science from the National Graduate School.

Among his many personal awards, Admiral Allen was the first recipient of the Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal and has been awarded three Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medals and the Legion of Merit. He is a native of Tucson, Arizona and the son of retired Coast Guard Chief Damage Controlman Clyde and Mrs. Wilma Allen. Admiral Allen and his wife, Pam, have three children and two grandchildren.

Rear Admiral Sally Brice-O'Hara became the Deputy Commandant for Operations, U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington D.C., in June 2008.  She oversees the strategic integration of operational missions and the optimization of policy development and mission execution consistent with the Service’s national priorities.

Prior to assuming her current command, Rear Admiral Brice-O’Hara was Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District where she managed operations across nearly 12.2 million square miles of the Central Pacific Ocean and was the Deputy Commander for East Asia – Pacific Engagement.  

 A native of Annapolis, Maryland, she graduated from Goucher College in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology. She received her Coast Guard commission from Officer Candidate School the following year.  She holds a Master of Arts Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government, where she was named a Littauer Fellow, and a Master of Science Degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.

Rear Admiral Brice-O’Hara’s personal awards include five Legions of Merit, a Meritorious Service Medal, six Coast Guard Commendation Medals, a Coast Guard Achievement Medal, and the Commandant’s Letter of Commendation.

 

Rear Admiral Robert (Steve) Branham comes to the Seventh Coast Guard District from Coast Guard Headquarters where he was the Coast Guard Assistant Commandant for Resources and Chief Financial Officer. In that role, he was responsible for the Coast Guard’s budget and financial management programs.  Rear Admiral Branham was promoted to flag rank in 2005 and received his second star in 2007.
 
He has served six tours afloat, including 4 tours in command of Cutter CAPE HEDGE (WPB 95311), a 95-foot patrol boat homeported in Morro Bay, California; Cutter NEAH BAY (WTGB 105), a 140-foot icebreaking tug homeported in Cleveland, Ohio; Cutter HARRIET LANE (WMEC 903), a 270-foot cutter homeported in Portsmouth, Va.; and Cutter GALLATIN (WHEC 721), a 378-foot cutter homeported in Charleston, S.C.

Throughout his 12 years of sea duty, he has been involved in a number of high-profile drug, migrant, search and rescue, and fisheries enforcement cases, including the 1980 Mariel Boatlift of Cuban migrants and the 1991 Haitian mass migration. Rear Admiral Branham also commanded the task force that successfully prototyped the use of armed helicopters to stop suspected drug-laden go-fast vessels, an initiative that continues to produce record annual drug interdiction rates.

Rear Admiral Branham is a 1977 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering.  He was awarded a master’s degree in Business Administration by Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio in 1987 and a master’s degree in National Security Strategy by the National War College, Washington, DC in 1999.

Rear Admiral Branham's awards include the Legion of Merit (4), the Meritorious Service Medal (2), the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (3), the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal (3), the Coast Guard Sea Service Ribbon (4), and the Coast Guard Cutterman’s Insignia.

 

Rear Admiral Jody A. Breckenridge assumed duties as the Director, Strategic Transformation Team on July 16, 2007.  She is responsible for aligning and synchronizing the efforts to transform and modernize the Coast Guard.  Rear Admiral Breckenridge also assumed the duties of the Assistant Commandant for Human Resources on May 30, 2008.  The Human Resources Directorate is made up of HR professionals, military and civilian, with one distinct mission: to meet the people needs of the Coast Guard while meeting the needs of Coast Guard people.

Prior to reporting to her current billet, RADM Breckenridge served as Commander of the Eleventh Coast Guard District in Alameda, CA overseeing Coast Guard operations in the SW and the Eastern Pacific. During her tenure, the Eleventh District stepped up its interagency collaboration leading to record drug seizures including the M/V GATUN, the largest maritime interdiction in US history, and the arrest of Francisco Javier Arellano Felix, head of the Arellano Felix Drug Cartel. Her prior flag assignment was as Commander, Maintenance and Logistics Command Pacific with responsibility for all mission support in the Pacific Theater.

Rear Admiral Breckenridge’s other career assignments include Coast Guard Deputy Chief of Staff, Commanding Officer of the Recruiting Command, Personnel Command (Officer Personnel Assistant and Division Chief, Officer Assignments Chief), Executive Officer Integrated Support Command Seattle, Executive Officer Base Seattle, Chief, Officer Candidate School, Coast Guard Pay and Personnel Center, Group Seattle Operations Officer, Group/COTP Seattle Assistant Port Safety Officer, Headquarters Marine Environmental Protection Division and National Response Center. While serving at Headquarters, Rear Admiral Breckenridge also served as a White House Social Aide. 

Rear Admiral Breckenridge was commissioned upon completion of Officer Candidate School in June, 1976.  She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from Virginia Tech. She earned a Masters in Public Policy from the University of Maryland in 1991 and a Masters of Science in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces in 1997.  While attending the University of Maryland, she was elected to the honor society of Phi Kappa Phi and was presented an Excellence in Scholarship Award, graduating with honors.

Rear Admiral Breckenridge's personal awards include three Legion of Merits, three Meritorious Service Medals, four Coast Guard Commendation Medals, Achievement Medal, and the Commandant's Letter of Commendation.