President Biden Nominates Vice Adm. Linda Fagan to Serve as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard

President Biden has nominated Vice Admiral Linda L. Fagan to serve as Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. If confirmed, Vice Adm. Fagan would be the first female four-star Admiral in Coast Guard history.

Vice Admiral Fagan currently serves as the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, a role she has held since June 2018. She concurrently serves as commander, Defense Force West and provides Coast Guard mission support to the Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders. Fagan is the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, as the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety Field.

Previously, she commanded Sector New York, with responsibility for all Coast Guard missions in the greater New York metropolitan area, in addition to operational assignments including sea duty on board the USCGC Polar Star and more than 15 years as a Marine Inspector. Vice Admiral Fagan’s staff tours include Executive Assistant to the Commandant and Vice Commandant, and Division Chief of the Foreign and Offshore Compliance Office.

She has worked with both the International Maritime Organization and International Labor Organization on flag state and port state issues, including the development of the International Ship and Port Security Code (ISPS), and the Consolidated Maritime Labor Convention.

A 1985 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy, she holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science, as well as a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Washington, and a Master’s Degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.

If confirmed, she will serve as the 32nd Vice Commandant.

“I am pleased that President Biden has nominated Vice Admiral Linda Fagan to be the Vice Commandant of the United States Coast Guard<” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “She is a superb leader who, as the 32nd Vice Commandant, will guide the Coast Guard at a time when its mission of securing our maritime borders, ports, and waterways has never been more important. If confirmed, Vice Admiral Fagan would serve as the first woman to be promoted to a 4-star rank in the Coast Guard. We are grateful to Vice Admiral Fagan for continuing her service to country, for the trail she has blazed, and for inspiring us all.”