COMMANDING OFFICER
Captain Anne O’Connell
CAPT O’Connell assumed command of the Coast Guard Cutter Stone in June 2025. Before returning to the cutter fleet, CAPT O’Connell served as the Director of the Commandant’s Advisory Group and as the Chief of Staff to the Senior Advisor to the Secretary for the Coast Guard.
In addition to Stone, CAPT O’Connell has commanded the Coast Guard Cutter Chinook in New London, CT; the Coast Guard Cutter Adak in Manama, Bahrain; the Coast Guard Cutters Chincoteague and Key Largo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Coast Guard Cutter Campbell in Newport, Rhode Island. She also served as a Deck Watch Officer on the Coast Guard Cutter Spencer based in Boston, MA, and as the Executive Officer of the Coast Guard Cutter Tampa, a 270-foot Medium Endurance Cutter based in Portsmouth, VA. In these assignments, CAPT O’Connell conducted counter-drug operations, migrant interdictions, search and rescue cases, and national defense missions in an area ranging from the North Atlantic seaboard to the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the Arabian Gulf, and the Caribbean Sea.
CAPT O’Connell’s other assignments include service both internal and external to the Coast Guard. In 2012, CAPT O’Connell was selected by President Obama as a White House Fellow where she served on the U.S. Domestic Policy Council. While at the White House, CAPT O’Connell assisted the Director for Veterans, Wounded Warriors, and Military Families in implementing national level policies and Presidential priorities across the U.S. Government. From 2019-2021, CAPT O’Connell served as the Coast Guard’s Deputy Budget Director, where she was responsible for formulating and defending the Service’s $13 billion annual budget request to the Department of Homeland Security, White House Office of Management and Budget, and Congress.
CAPT O’Connell holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University, and a Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Her service awards include the Legion of Merit (2), the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal (3), the Coast Guard Commendation Medal (5), and numerous unit awards.