Commandant of the Coast Guard

The title of commandant dates to a 1923 act that distributed the commissioned line and engineer officers of the U.S. Coast Guard in grades. Before 1923, the rank and title of the head of the Coast Guard was "captain-commandant." The rank "captain-commandant" originated in the Revenue Cutter Service in 1908. The original holder of that rank was the Chief of the Revenue Cutter Service (also known as the Revenue Marine). The Coast Guard traces the lineage of commandants back to Captain Leonard G. Shepard, chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau, even though he never officially received the title of captain-commandant. The captain-commandant position was created in 1908 when Captain Worth G. Ross was the first to actually hold the position. Although he was retired, Ross's predecessor, Captain Charles F. Shoemaker, was elevated to the rank of captain-commandant. Shoemaker's predecessor, Captain Shepard, had already died and was not elevated to the rank.

Chiefs exercised centralized control over the Revenue Marine Bureau.

• Captain Alexander V. Fraser, USRM, 1843–1848[1]
• Captain Richard Evans, USRM, 1848–1849[2]

In 1849 the Revenue Marine Bureau was dissolved, and the Revenue Marine fell under the control the commissioner of customs until the Revenue Marine Bureau was again established in 1869.

• N. Broughton Devereux, 1869–1871
• Sumner I. Kimball, 1871–1878
• Ezra Clark, 1878–1885
• Peter Bonnett, 1885–1889

There have been 26 commandants of the Coast Guard since the office of chief of the Revenue Marine Bureau was transferred to a military billet.[3] This includes Admiral Karl L. Schultz, the current commandant.

#	Picture	Name	Rank	Start of tenure	End of tenure	Notes
1		Leonard G. Shepard	Captain	14 December 1889	14 March 1895	Shepard became the first military Chief of the "Revenue Marine Division" of the Treasury Department and is considered to be the first Commandant.[4]
2		Charles F. Shoemaker		19 March 1895	27 March 1905	On 8 May 1908, Shoemaker was promoted to the rank of Captain-Commandant on the Retired List by Act of Congress.
3		Worth G. Ross	Captain-Commandant	25 April 1905	30 April 1911	Ross was instrumental in the establishment of what was to become the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut.
4		Ellsworth P. Bertholf	Commodore	19 June 1911	30 June 1919	Served during the merger of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service with the U.S. Life-Saving Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard. Was the first Coast Guard officer the achieve flag rank.[Note 1]
5		William E. Reynolds	Rear admiral	2 October 1919	11 January 1924	Reynolds was the first Coast Guard officer to be promoted to the rank of rear admiral.
6		Frederick C. Billard		11 January 1924	17 May 1932	Billard was appointed to three consecutive terms as Commandant and died in office 17 May 1932, serving through the Prohibition Era and reorganization of the Academy.
7		Harry G. Hamlet		14 June 1932	1 January 1936	Hamlet persuaded Congress to dismiss efforts to merge the Coast Guard with the U.S. Navy. Continued serving after term as Commandant was over and eventually retired as a vice admiral by act of Congress.
8		Russell R. Waesche	Admiral	1 January 1936	1 January 1946	Longest serving Commandant, first Commandant to be promoted to vice admiral and admiral. Commandant during World War II and helped the Coast Guard remain a separate distinct service while it was assigned to the U.S. Navy. Oversaw the largest manpower buildup in Coast Guard history and was instrumental in the formation of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve.[Note 2]
9		Joseph F. Farley		1 January 1946	1 January 1950	Farley served during the difficult Post-World War II era when additional statutory responsibilities were being added to the Coast Guard's mission structure and personnel allowances were being reduced.
10		Merlin O'Neill	Vice admiral	1 January 1950	1 June 1954	O'Neill directed the increase in port security activities required by the passage of the Magnuson Act and revitalized the Coast Guard Reserve program emphasizing its defense mission during wartime. [Note 3]
11		Alfred C. Richmond	Admiral	1 June 1954	1 June 1962	Richmond served two full terms as Commandant and was the United States delegate to many international maritime conferences during his tenure.[Note 4]
12		Edwin J. Roland		1 June 1962	1 June 1966	Roland oversaw the replacement of many World War II era cutters under fleet modernization programs during his tenure. He assisted the U.S. Navy with operations in Vietnam by supplying crews and cutters for Operation Market Time.
13		Willard J. Smith		1 June 1966	1 June 1970	Smith was the Commandant of the Coast Guard when the service was transferred from the Department of the Treasury to the newly formed Department of Transportation.
14		Chester R. Bender		1 June 1970	1 June 1974	The Coast Guard undertook new statutory responsibilities in the areas of marine safety, environmental protection and law enforcement during his tenure, however Bender is best known for his changes in the dress uniform worn by Coast Guardsmen; sometimes referred to as "Bender's Blues".
15		Owen W. Siler		1 June 1974	1 June 1978	Several changes in environmental duties occurred during Siler's tenure as well as a step-up in drug interdiction activities. Under his tenure, the replacement of aging cutters was given budget priority, and the first women entered the Coast Guard Academy.
16		John B. Hayes		1 June 1978	28 May 1982	Hayes experienced severe budget problems during his tenure while fending off a move in Congress to transfer the Coast Guard to the Navy. Drug interdiction was increased and several high-profile search and rescue cases occurred during his watch which helped keep the Coast Guard in the public eye.
17		James S. Gracey		28 May 1982	30 May 1986	Gracey faced tight budgets at the same time he was successful at replacing aging cutters. Increasing the Coast Guard's role in the defense of coastal waters was accomplished.
18		Paul A. Yost Jr.		30 May 1986	31 May 1990	Yost successfully maintained the service through difficult budget battles each year. In doing so, he also emphasized three 'primary mission areas": maritime law enforcement, maritime safety, and defense readiness. There was an increased emphasis on military/naval capabilities of the service.
19		J. William Kime		31 May 1990	1 June 1994	Kime led the service during the end of the Cold War, collapse of the Soviet Union, the Persian Gulf War's Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, as well as increasing operations in drug interdiction and environmental law enforcement.
20		Robert E. Kramek		1 June 1994	30 May 1998
21		James Loy		30 May 1998	30 May 2002
22		Thomas H. Collins		30 May 2002	25 May 2006
23		Thad W. Allen		25 May 2006	25 May 2010
24		Robert J. Papp Jr.		25 May 2010	30 May 2014
25		Paul F. Zukunft		30 May 2014	1 June 2018
26		Karl L. Schultz		1 June 2018	Incumbent

• Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard
• Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard

• Commandant's official website