List of United States Coast Guard vice admirals

The grade of vice admiral (or three-star admiral) is the second-highest in the United States Coast Guard, ranking above rear admiral (two-star admiral) and below admiral (four-star admiral).

The grade of vice admiral was first granted to the commandant of the Coast Guard during World War II. From 1942 to 1972, the Coast Guard had at most one vice admiral, either the commandant or the assistant commandant. Additional vice admirals were appointed in 1972 to command operating forces in the Atlantic and Pacific, and by 2021 the Coast Guard had four vice admirals on active duty. More than a dozen rear admirals received tombstone promotions to vice admiral when they retired, for either completing 40 years of service or being specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. Tombstone promotions for years of service ended on November 1, 1949, and for combat citations on November 1, 1959.

Of the 82 vice admirals who were appointed to that rank while on active duty, 70 were commissioned via the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) or its predecessor, the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction (USRCSSI); 1 via the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA); and 11 via officer candidate school (OCS).

List of vice admirals

The following list of vice admirals is indexed by the numerical order in which each officer was appointed to that rank. Each entry lists the officer's name, date of rank,Dates of rank are taken from the Coast Guard Register of Officers or from the officer's official biography. number of years on active duty as vice admiral (Yrs),The number of years on active duty as vice admiral is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Date of rank" column from the last year in the "Position" column, or from the date promoted to admiral in the "Notes" column. active-duty positions held while serving as vice admiral,Positions listed are those held by the officer when promoted to vice admiral. Dates listed are for the officer's full tenure, which may predate promotion to vice admiral or postdate retirement from active duty. year commissioned and source of commission,Sources of commission are listed in parentheses after the year of commission, and include the United States Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA), United States Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction (USRCSSI), and officer candidate school (OCS). and number of years in commission when promoted to vice admiral (YC),The number of years in commission before being promoted to vice admiral is approximated by subtracting the year in the "Commission" column from the year in the "Date of rank" column. and other biographical notes.Notes include years of birth and death; awards of the Medal of Honor, Congressional Gold Medal, Presidential Medal of Freedom, or honors of similar significance; major government appointments; university presidencies or equivalents; familial relationships with other three-star officers or significant government officials such as U.S. Presidents, cabinet secretaries, U.S. Senators, or state governors; and unusual career events such as premature relief or death in office.

# Name Photo Date of rank Position Yrs Commission YC Notes  Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1936–1946. 3   1906 (USRCSSI)Graduated from the Revenue Cutter Service School of Instruction, which became the United States Coast Guard Academy in 1915. 36   (1886–1946) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 4 Apr 1945–1 Jan 1946.  Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1950–1954. 4   1921 (USCGA) 29   (1898–1981) Retired as admiral, 1 Jan 1954.  Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1954–1962. 6   1924 (USCGA) 30   (1902–1984) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 1 Jun 1960–1 Jun 1962.  Assistant Commandant/Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard, 1954–1962. 2   1924 (USCGA) 36   (1902–1993)  Assistant Commandant/Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard, 1962. 0   1929 (USCGA) 33   (1905–1985) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 1 Jun 1962–1 Jun 1966.  Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1962–1964. 2   1931 (USCGA) 31   (1906–1989)  Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1964–1966. 2   1931 (USCGA) 33   (1907–1989)  Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1966–1970. 4   1936 (USCGA) 30   (1913–2004)  Assistant Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1970–1972. Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1972–1974. 4   1938 (USCGA) 32   (1914–2010) 10  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1972–1974. 2   1937 (USCGA) 35   (1919–2002) 11  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1972–1974. 2   1938 (USCGA) 34   (1914–1983) 12  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1974–1978. 4   1941 (USCGA) 33   (1919–2002) 13  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1974–1978. 4   1941 (USCGA) 33   (1918–2004) 14  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1974–1976. 2   1940 (USCGA) 34   (1916–1981) 15  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1976–1978. 2   1941 (USCGA) 35   (1919–2004) 16  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1978–1982. 4   1944 (USMMA) 34   (1923–2020) 17  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1978–1971. 3   1945 (USCGA) 33   (1921–2019) 18  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1978–1981. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1981–1982. 4   1949 (USCGA) 29   (1927–2020) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 28 May 1982 – 30 May 1986. 19  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1981–1982. 1   1946 (USCGA) 35   (1924–2019) 20  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1982–1984. 2   1948 (USCGA) 34   (1923–2009) 21  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1982–1986. 4   1950 (USCGA) 32   (1927–2014) 22  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District, 1982–1984. 2   1949 (USCGA) 33   (1927–       ) 23  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Third Coast Guard District/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1984–1986. 2   1951 (USCGA) 33   (1929–       ) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 30 May 1986 – 31 May 1990. 24  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1984. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Twelfth Coast Guard District, 1984–1987. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1987–1988. 4   1952 (USCGA) 32   (1930–2014) 25  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1986–1988. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1988–1989. Commander, Department of Defense Joint Task Force Four, 1989–1991. 5   1953 (USCGA) 33   (1929–2018) 26  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Third Coast Guard District, 1986–1987. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1987–1988. 2   1952 (USCGA) 34   (1930–2022) 27  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1988–1990. 2   1954 (USCGA) 34   (1932–2014) 28  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1988–1990. Director, Intelligence and Security, U.S. Department of Transportation, 1990–1993. 5   1954 (USCGA) 34   (1929–       ) 29  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1989–1991. 2   1955 (USCGA) 34   (1933–       ) 30  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1990–1992. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1992–1994. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Joint Interagency Task Force West, 1994. 4   1957 (OCS) 35   (1935–       ) 31  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1990–1992. 2   1957 (USCGA) 33   (1935–       ) 32  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1991–1994. 3   1959 (USCGA) 32   (1938–       ) 33  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1992–1994. 2   1958 (USCGA) 34   (1936–       ) 34  Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, 1992–1994. 2   1961 (USCGA) 31   (1939–2016) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 1 Jun 1994–30 May 1998. 35  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1994–1996. 2   1962 (USCGA) 32   (1940–2001) 36  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1994–1996. Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, 1996–1998. 4   1964 (USCGA) 30   (1942–       ) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 30 May 1998 – 30 May 2002. Administrator, Transportation Security Administration, 2002–2003; U.S. Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, 2003–2005. 37  Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, 1994–1996. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 1996. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Fifth Coast Guard District, 1996–1997. 3   1965 (USCGA) 31   (1943–       ) 38  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Joint Interagency Task Force West, 1994. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1994–1996. Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1996–1998. 4   1964 (USCGA) 30   (1941–       ) 39  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 1996. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Eleventh Coast Guard District, 1996–1997. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Fifth Coast Guard District, 1997–1999. 3   1965 (USCGA) 31   (1943–       ) 40  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Eleventh Coast Guard District, 1997–1998. Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 1998–2000. 3   1964 (USCGA) 33   (1942–       ) 41  Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, 1998–2002. 4   1969 (USCGA) 29   (–       ) 42  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Eleventh Coast Guard District, 1998–2000. Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 2000–2002. 4   1968 (USCGA) 30   (1946–       ) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 30 May 2002 – 25 May 2006. 43  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Fifth Coast Guard District, 1999–2001. 2   1966 (USCGA) 33   (1944–       ) 44  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Eleventh Coast Guard District, 2000–2002. 2   1968 (USCGA) 32   (–       ) 45  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Fifth Coast Guard District, 2001–2002. Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard, 2002–2006. 5   1971 (USCGA) 30   (1949–       ) Commandant of the Coast Guard, with rank of admiral, 25 May 2006 – 25 May 2010. 46  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic/Fifth Coast Guard District, 2002–2003. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 2003–2004. 2   1969 (USCGA) 33   (–       ) 47  Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 2002–2004. 2   1969 (OCS) 33   (1947–       ) Administrator, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 2006–2007; U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation, 2007–2009. 48  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific/Eleventh Coast Guard District, 2002–2003. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 2003–2004. Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard, 2004–2006. 4   1970 (USCGA) 32   (1947–       ) 49  Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Pacific, 2004. Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area/Coast Guard Defense Force West, 2004–2006. 2   1975 (USCGA) 29   (–       ) Deputy Administrator, Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2006–2009. 50  Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/U.S. Maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic, 2004. Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area/Coast Guard Defense Force East, 2004–2006.