Captain Mark D. Gordon
Chief of Staff
United States Coast Guard Atlantic Area
C
Captain Mark Gordon assumed the role as the Atlantic Area’s Chief of Staff in July 2021. He was previously Chief of Operations, Coast Guard Atlantic Area from July 2019 to 2021. His most previous afloat assignment was as Commanding Officer of Coast Guard Cutter HAMILTON (WMSL 753) homeported in Charleston, SC. On HAMILTON he responded to Hurricanes IRMA and FLORENCE and conducted four counter-drug patrols to the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean seizing over 12 metric tons of contraband worth over $380 million and detained 82 suspected traffickers. In 2018 HAMILTON also earned the Hopley Yeaton Superior Cutter (large) award, the Foundation for Coast Guard History award, the Major Caliber Gunnery award, and was the Forest Rednour Galley of the Year winner. In 2019 they earned the inaugural Excellence in Afloat Safety award.
He entered the Coast Guard through Officer Candidate School in 1992. Upon graduation he was assigned as a staff officer at Coast Guard Headquarters’ Marine Environmental Protection Division. After one year at Headquarters, Captain Gordon attended U.S. Navy Diving Officer School to prepare him to serve as Diving Officer on board the polar icebreaker POLAR STAR (WAGB 10), in Seattle, Washington. While on POLAR STAR, he participated in two deployments to the Antarctic and one to the Arctic. After two years, Captain Gordon reported to USS CUSHING (DD 985), a U.S. Navy destroyer home ported in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to serve as Navigator and Administration Officer. While on CUSHING, he sailed on a Western Pacific/Arabian Gulf deployment, enforced United Nations sanctions against Iraq, and shifted homeports to Yokosuka, Japan. CAPT Gordon then served as Commanding Officer of USCGC PEA ISLAND (WPB 1347), a 110-foot Patrol Boat home ported in Mayport, Florida. He served as Executive Officer on USCGC MOHAWK (WMEC 913) in Key West, Florida from 2004 to 2006 and commanded USCGC TAMPA (WMEC 902) a 270’ Medium Endurance cutter home ported in Portsmouth, Virginia from June 2009 until July 2011.
Captain Gordon’s shore assignments include Commanding Officer of the Southeast Regional Fisheries Law Enforcement Training Center in Charleston, South Carolina, a staff officer in the Cutter Forces Section and Chief Incident Management for the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area from July of 2006 to June 2009, and Chief of the Strategic Resource Planning Branch (LANT-82) within U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area’s Resource Division from 2011 to 2014. He also served as Chief of Law Enforcement for the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami, Florida from 2014 until 2017.
Captain Gordon earned a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida in 1990, a Masters Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island in 2001, and a Masters of Public Administration from the College of Charleston in 2003. He also earned a Graduate Certificate in Maritime, Ports, and Logistics Management in 2015 from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.
His personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal (five awards), Coast Guard Commendation Medal (three awards), and Coast Guard Achievement Medal, among others. He is a native of Louisville, Kentucky and commissioned as an honorary “Kentucky Colonel”. In addition, he has earned the U.S. Navy’s Surface Warfare Officer Qualification and is an honorary Panama Canal Pilot. He is married with two children.