Paul F. Zukunft

Paul Zukunft
Born	(1955-01-30) January 30, 1955 North Branford, Connecticut, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Coast Guard
Years of service	1977–present
Rank	25px Admiral
Commands held	Commandant of the Coast Guard Coast Guard Pacific Area Eleventh Coast Guard District Joint Interagency Task Force West USCGC Rush (WHEC-723) USCGC Harriet Lane (WMEC-903) USCGC Cape Upright (WPB-95303)
Battles/wars	Global War on Terrorism  • September 11 attacks Deepwater Horizon oil spill
Awards	Cutterman Insignia Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit Meritorious Service Medal Coast Guard Commendation Medal Coast Guard Achievement Medal

Paul F. Zukunft (born January 30, 1955) is a United States Coast Guard admiral and the current Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 25th Commandant of the Coast Guard, with the rank of admiral, in May 2014 and relieved Admiral Robert Papp as the 25th Commandant of the Coast Guard on 30 May 2014. Prior to his selection as Commandant, he served as Commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. In this position, Zukunft was the operational commander for all U.S. Coast Guard missions within the half of the world that ranges from the Rocky Mountains to the waters off the East Coast of Africa. He concurrently served as Commander, Defense Force West and provided U.S. Coast Guard mission support to the U.S. Department of Defense and Combatant Commanders.

Previous flag assignments include The Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship; Director of Response Policy, Assistant Commandant for Capability; Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District; and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West; Federal Onscene Deepwater Horizon Unified Command, and the Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area.

Zukunft wears the permanent Cutterman Insignia and is a certified NIMS ICS Type I Incident Commander. His personal awards include the Department of Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal, Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legion of Merit, and five Meritorious Service Medals with "O" device among others.

Early life and education

Zukunft was born in 1955 and is a native of North Branford, Connecticut. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 1977 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Government. He attended Webster University in 1988 where he received his Master of Arts degree in Management, and the U.S. Naval War College in 1997 graduating with a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He is a graduate of the Asia Pacific Center for Security Studies Executive Seminar and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government National Preparedness Leadership Initiative course.

Career

U.S. Coast Guard

Zukunft was promoted to flag rank in 2006. His six previous flag assignments also include The Assistant Commandant for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship; Director of Response Policy, Assistant Commandant for Capability; Commander, Eleventh Coast Guard District and Director, Joint Interagency Task Force West. Additionally, Zukunft served as the Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Deepwater Horizon Spill of National Significance in 2010, and directed more than 47,000 responders, 6,500 vessels and 120 aircraft during one of the largest oil spills in U.S. history.

Zukunft has served at sea, commanding the USCGC Rush, USCGC Harriet Lane, and the USCGC Cape Upright. Zukunft’s senior staff assignments include Chief of Operations, Coast Guard Pacific Area and Chief of Operations Oversight, Coast Guard Atlantic Area where he directly supervised all major cutter operations in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. He also served as the Chief of Staff of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District in Honolulu.

Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard

On February 28, 2014, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced that U.S. President Obama intended to nominate Zukunft for the position of Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, succeeding Admiral Robert Papp. He was confirmed by the Senate on May 15, 2014, and frocked to admiral the same day. He assumed the office of Commandant on May 30, 2014.

Awards and decorations

Badge	Cutterman Insignia
1st row		Homeland Security Distinguished Service Medal
2nd row	Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal	Defense Superior Service Medal	Legion of Merit with two gold award stars
3rd row	Meritorious Service Medal with four gold award stars and "O" device	Coast Guard Commendation Medal with one gold award star	Coast Guard Achievement Medal with gold award star and "O" device
4th row	Coast Guard Presidential Unit Citation with "hurricane symbol"	Joint Meritorious Unit Award	Secretary of Transportation Outstanding Unit Award
5th row	Coast Guard Unit Commendation with one award star and "O" device	Coast Guard Meritorious Unit Commendation with silver and gold award star and "O" device	Coast Guard "E" Ribbon with award star
6th row	Coast Guard Bicentennial Unit Commendation	National Defense Service Medal with two bronze service stars	Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
7th row	Humanitarian Service Medal with two service stars	Transportation 9-11 Ribbon	Special Operations Service Ribbon with one service star
8th row	Sea Service Ribbon with three service stars	Rifle Marksmanship Medal with silver expert device	Pistol Marksmanship Ribbon

External links

• Official website

Military offices
Preceded by Robert Papp	Commandant of the Coast Guard 2014–present	Incumbent
Order of precedence
Preceded by Robert Neller as Commandant of the Marine Corps	Order of Precedence of the United States as Commandant of the Coast Guard	Succeeded by David Rodriguez as Commander of United States Africa Command