Chief of Staff

Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen

Chief of Staff

United States Coast Guard

Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed duties as Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard and Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC in May 2002. Vice Admiral Allen is third in command of the Coast Guard. VADM Allen serves as the Coast Guard's Transition Director for the transfer of the Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security.

Prior to this assignment he served as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Fifth Coast Guard District; and U.S. maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility spanning five Coast Guard Districts, over 14 million square miles, involving 26,000 military and civilian employees, and 27,900 auxiliarists. He served concurrently as Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, and Commander U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. VADM Allen lead Atlantic forces in the Coast Guard's response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001

In his previous flag assignments he commanded the Seventh Coast Guard District and directed all Coast Guard operations in South Carolina, Georgia, most of Florida and throughout the Caribbean; and was the Coast Guard's Director of Resources, where he was responsible for formulating the Coast Guard's budget, developing long range plans, and managing the Coast Guard's performance plan.

A specialist in operations both in the coastal and offshore environments, Vice Admiral Allen has served in three Coast Guard cutters ANDROSCOGGIN and GALLATIN, and command of the medium endurance cutter CITRUS. His coastal operations command assignments include Captain of the Port/Group Long Island Sound, CT; Group Atlantic City, NJ, and LORAN Station Lampang, Thailand. Vice Admiral Allen's other assignments included a tour as search and rescue controller in the Greater Antilles Section, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Intelligence Watch Officer at DEA/INS El Paso Intelligence Center, El Paso, TX; Chief Budget Officer, Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic, Governors Island, NY; Deputy Project Manager, Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation (FRAM) Project, and Assistant Division Chief, Programs Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Headquarters.

Vice Admiral Allen is a native of Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University and received the 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

COPYRIGHT 2004 U.S. Coast Guard
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group