EAST DISTRICT COMMAND CHAPLAIN
Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Moynihan, USN
Coast Guard East District Command Chaplain
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Chaplain Moynihan, a native of Yukon, Oklahoma, graduated in 2005 from the University of Oklahoma with a bachelor’s degree in German and history. In 2008, he began his theological studies at Reformed Theological Seminary and graduated with a Master of Divinity in 2012. After completing an internship in Charlotte, North Carolina, he was ordained as a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America in 2014. He was commissioned as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Chaplain Corps in 2017.
Upon completion of Officer Development School and the Professional Naval Chaplaincy Basic Leadership Course, he reported to Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads in Norfolk, Virginia, where he served as the command chaplain.
In October 2021, he reported to the USS Higgins (DDG 76), homeported out of CFA Yokosuka, where he served as the first chaplain permanently assigned to a forward-deployed Naval Forces destroyer in the 7th Fleet. During this tour, Higgins conducted multiple Western Pacific patrols.
Chaplain Moynihan reported to the 3rd Marine Littoral Regiment in October 2023, where he served as the battalion chaplain for the 3rd Littoral Logistics Battalion as well as the 3rd Littoral Anti-Air Battalion. He supported multiple iterations of the Balikatan, ACD, MASA and Kamandag series of exercises in forward operations in the Philippines.
In January 2026, he reported to U.S. Coast Guard East District in Portsmouth, Virginia, where he serves as the district chaplain, supervising Navy and Coast Guard Auxiliary chaplains from North Carolina to New Jersey.
Previously, he served in the Army National Guard Chaplain Corps for a total of nine years. As a chaplain candidate, he supported multiple units of the North Carolina Army National Guard. As a traditional reservist chaplain, he served with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team and the 103rd Brigade Engineer Battalion. From 2016 to 2017, he also served on active duty with the Pennsylvania Recruiting and Retention Battalion as a statewide support chaplain.
Lt. Cmdr. Moynihan’s personal awards include the Navy Commendation Medal (three awards), the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal and the Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal (two awards). He has earned the Surface Chaplain Officer warfare device as well as the Fleet Marine Force Qualified Officer warfare device.
He has been married to Allison since 2013, and they have three children: Miles, Tristan and Linnéa Rae.