U.S. Coast Guard Readies for Transfer of Power

Coast Guard selects new Three Star Admirals.

The commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, Adm. Thad Allen, announced the selection of new three star admirals who will serve under Vice Adm. Robert J. Papp, when he becomes the U.S Coast Guard's 24th commandant May 25, upon Senate confirmation.

Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano and President Obama approved the nominations of Rear Adm. Sally Brice-O’Hara for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as Vice Commandant; Rear Adm. Manson K. Brown for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as commander of the Coast Guard's Pacific Area and Rear Adm. Robert C. Parker for promotion to vice admiral and assignment as commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area. Vice Adm. John P. Currier will continue to serve as the chief of staff. Appointment to these billets and promotion as appropriate will occur following confirmation by the Senate.

Brice-O'Hara, a native of Annapolis, Md., currently serves as the deputy commandant for operations in Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, where she is responsible for the strategic integration of operational missions. In her new role as the service's second in command, Brice-O'Hara will be in charge of executing the Commandant's strategic intent, managing internal organizational governance and also serving as the Coast Guard's acquisition executive.

Brown, a native of the District of Columbia, serves as commander for the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu, where he is responsible for the safety and security of nearly 12.2 million square miles of the Central Pacific Ocean, an area more than two and a half times larger than the Continental United States. Brown will be the Coast Guard's first African American three star admiral. At Pacific Area, Brown will command all Coast Guard missions in a 74 million square mile area ranging from South America, north to the Arctic Circle and west to the Far East.

Parker, a native of Portland, Ore., serves as the U.S. Southern Command's first director of security and intelligence in Miami, where he directs U.S. military operations and intelligence efforts, and coordinates interagency operations in Southern Command's area of responsibility. He is the first Coast Guard officer to serve as a director in a Department of Defense command. In his new position at Atlantic Area, Parker will command an area of responsibility that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf and includes five Coast Guard Districts, 42 states and over 14 million square miles.