Robert J . Papp , Jr . Robert J . Papp . Jr . ( born March 25 , 1952 ) is a United States Coast Guard admiral and the 24th and current Commandant of the U . S . Coast Guard . He leads the largest component of the United States Department of Homeland Security , with 42 , 000 active duty , 8 , 200 Reserve , 8 , 000 civilian , and 31 , 000 Auxiliary personnel . Education . Papp is a 1975 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy . Additionally , he holds a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College and a Master of Science in Management from Salve Regina University . Coast Guard assignments . As a flag officer , Papp served as Commander , Coast Guard Atlantic Area , where he was operational commander for all U . S . Coast Guard missions within the eastern half of the world and provided support to the Department of Defense ; as the Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard and Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Headquarters ; as Commander , Ninth Coast Guard District , with responsibilities for Coast Guard missions on the Great Lakes and Northern Border ; and as Director of Reserve and Training where he was responsible for managing and supporting 13 , 000 Coast Guard Ready Reservists and all Coast Guard Training Centers . He is a career cutterman , having served on six Coast Guard cutters and commanded the cutters " Red Beech " , " Papaw " , " Forward " , and " Eagle " , the Coast Guard ' s training barque . He has also served as commander of a task unit during " Operation Able Manner " off the coast of Haiti in 1994 , enforcing United Nations sanctions . Additionally , his task unit augmented U . S . Naval Forces during the U . S . intervention in Haiti . His assignments ashore have included the Commandant of Cadets staff at the U . S . Coast Guard Academy ; Aids to Navigation staff in the Third Coast Guard District ; Chief of the Capabilities Branch in the Defense Operations Division ; Chief of the Fleet Development Team ; Director of the Leadership Development Center ; Chief of the Coast Guard ’ s Office of Congressional Affairs ; and Deputy Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard . Commander , Atlantic Area . Until May 2010 , Papp served as Commander , Coast Guard Atlantic Area in Portsmouth , Virginia and Commander , Defense Force East . He served as the operational commander for all U . S . Coast Guard missions within the eastern half of the world ; ranging from the Rocky Mountains to the Persian Gulf and spanning an area of responsibility across 42 states with over 14 million square miles , and serving with more than 51 , 000 military and civilian employees and Auxiliarists . In this role , he was also Commander , Defense Force East and provided Coast Guard mission support to the Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders . He assumed those duties in July 2008 . Commandant of the Coast Guard . He was promoted to Admiral and succeeded Admiral Thad Allen as Commandant in a change of command ceremony on May 25 , 2010 . Papp made the first appointment in United States history of a woman to head a United States military service academy when he designated Sandra L . Stosz as superintendent of United States Coast Guard Academy . Awards and decorations . On July 30 , 2005 Papp was inducted into the Reserve Officers Association Minuteman Hall of Fame in recognition of dedicated service to the nation in support of the U . S . Coast Guard Reserve . He was presented the Distinguished Public Service Award of the National Maritime Historical Society in 1998 for his service as the Commanding Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter " Eagle " . In 2005 he was presented with the " Native Sons Award " by his home town of Norwich , Connecticut . Papp is the 13th Gold Ancient Mariner of the Coast Guard , which is an honorary position held by an officer , with the earliest date of qualification as a Cutterman and over ten years of cumulative sea duty . Papp accepted the 2010 Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award from the Naval War College ( NWC ) during a ceremony held at the Washington Navy Yard on May 6 , 2010 . In an interview published in the February 2012 issue of " Military Officer " , he described his plans for budgetary reductions in the Coast Guard . Additionally , Admiral Papp has received two foreign decorations which have been unidentified as of 1 August 2013 . Personal life . Papp is a native of Norwich , Connecticut . He is married to the former Linda Kapral of East Lyme , Connecticut . The couple has three daughters , and two granddaughters . External links . " Portions of this biography were taken from the Coast Guard ' s biography of Papp . "