The White House has nominated Vice Adm. Linda L. Fagan to be the next Vice Commandant of the US Coast Guard as the service’s first woman four-star admiral.
She currently serves as the commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area, overseeing all Coast Guard missions from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa.
Fagan concurrently serves as commander, Defense Force West and provides Coast Guard mission support to the Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders. Fagan is a 1985 graduate of the Coast Guard Academy and is the Coast Guard’s first-ever Gold Ancient Trident, the officer with the longest service record in the Marine Safety field.
“Vice Adm. Fagan is an outstanding leader with 36 years of Coast Guard operations, policy-making, joint service, and interagency experience,” said Adm. Karl L. Schultz, Commandant of the US Coast Guard. “Throughout her distinguished career, she has been a top performer and a trailblazer. As the Coast Guard’s first female four-star admiral, and President Biden’s nominee to serve as the Coast Guard’s 32nd Vice Commandant, Adm. Fagan will be instrumental in moving the Service forward at a critical juncture in our history.”
Pending confirmation, Fagan is expected to relieve current Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Charles W. Ray on June 18.
Fagan’s nomination is part of US president Joe Biden’s plan to put more women in leadership positions across the Pentagon. This administration has so far named the first female deputy secretary of defense, Kathleen H. Hicks, and the first female Army secretary, Christine Wormuth.
