Friday, June 19, 2009 was my last day as Director, Prevention Policy. I will be reporting in to my new assignment, Chief of Operations, CG Atlantic Area/OPCOM in about two weeks. I enjoyed my 18 months in this assignment, where my duties included re-energizing the Marine Safety mission. I now leave those responsibilities to my able successor, Rear Admiral Kevin Cook. For those of you who don't know him, here is his bio:Rear Admiral Kevin Cook is currently Director of Prevention Policy for Marine Safety, Security and Stewardship, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC. Before coming to CGHQ, he was assigned as the Director of the Operations Command Implementation Team in Portsmouth, Virginia. In that capacity, he led the effort to integrate oversight of all Coast Guard operations into a single Operations Command.
Rear Admiral Cook has held a variety of field positions supporting the Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection mission areas. He was assigned to CGHQ as a staff engineer in the Hazardous Materials Division, and then was a mid-grade officer at Marine Safety Office Hampton Roads, Virginia. Afterwards, he returned to CGHQ as the Division Chief of the Hazardous Materials Division. As such, he served as the Coast Guard's leading policy advisor for commercial transport of hazardous oil, chemical, and liquefied gas cargoes, including duties as a U.S. delegation leader for related work at the International Maritime Organization.
Later he was assigned at Marine Safety Office Houston-Galveston, Texas, as Executive Officer, and subsequently Commanding Officer. There Rear Admiral Cook served the ports of Houston, Galveston, Texas City, and Freeport, and offshore waters, as Captain of the Port. For two years following 9/11, he also directed maritime homeland security operations through command of the regional Task Unit that included 800 members serving in Coast Guard units and Navy patrol boats spanning from Freeport, Texas, eastward to Lake Charles, Louisiana.
At the time of his flag officer selection, Rear Admiral Cook was serving as Chief of Staff for the Thirteenth Coast Guard District, Seattle, Washington.
He also has had three tours afloat: CGC MADRONA as a deck watch officer; CGC BITTERSWEET as the Executive Officer; and CGC COWSLIP as the Commanding Officer.
A native of Freehold, NJ, he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 1979 with a Bachelors of Science Degree in Ocean Engineering. Rear Admiral Cook also earned a Masters of Science Degree in Chemical Engineering from Princeton University. He is a 1999 graduate of the U.S. Army War College. In 2003, he was appointed as the Coast Guard Fellow to Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Study Group. His military decorations include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and Coast Guard Achievement Medal. Additionally, he was recognized by the National Propeller Club as the Port of Houston Person of the Year for 2003.
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