Captain Rob Potter
Commanding Officer
Captain Rob Potter proudly serves as the 21st Commanding Officer of U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod. He is responsible for all aviation support to Coast Guard missions across the First Coast Guard District, an area of operations that spans the U.S.-Canadian border to New Jersey and 1,300 miles offshore. The oldest continuously operating aviation unit in the Coast Guard, Air Station Cape Cod’s history dates back to the establishment of an air station on Ten Pound Island, Gloucester, MA in 1925. Air Station Cape Cod was commissioned in its current location on August 29, 1970.
A career aviator, his previous assignments include serving in the Personnel Service Command as the Chief of Officer Assignments (O5 and below) for the Coast Guard. In this capacity, he managed the assignments process and approves permanent change of station (PCS) orders for over 7,000 officers.
Following graduation from the Coast Guard Academy, Captain Potter served as an Engineering Officer aboard the USCGC HAMILTON prior to attending flight school. Upon completion of U.S. Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida, he was assigned to Air Station Clearwater, Florida where he flew the H60 Jayhawk Helicopter conducting Search and Rescue (SAR), migrant interdictions, and counter drug missions. In 2006, he was assigned to Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, Oregon where he commanded and instructed SAR and fisheries enforcement missions over the dangerous ocean bars along the rugged Northwest coast. In 2010, he transferred to Aviation Training Center Mobile, Alabama where he served as the H60 Branch Chief over a cadre of instructor pilots charged to uphold aircrew qualifications and standardization for the entire CG fleet of H60 Aircraft. Following, he proceeded to his first staff assignment on Capitol Hill where he served as the Deputy Coast Guard Senate Liaison. In this capacity, he coordinated and facilitated all engagements between the U. S. Senate and Senior Coast Guard leadership including garnering support for the CG’s $10B budget and legislation priorities. After two years on “The Hill” he assumed the duties as both the Response Officer and Air Operations officer at Sector/Air Station San Diego where he lead and oversaw all law enforcement, pollution, and SAR cases executed in southern California and northern Mexico.
Captain Potter’s personal awards include the prominent Captain Witherspoon Award for Inspirational Leadership, a Distinguished Flying Cross Medal, three Meritorious Service Medals, two Commendation Medals, and others. He was inducted in the Coast Guard Academy’s “Hall of Heroes” in 2011 as a member of the Wall of Gallantry for heroic action in aerial flight.
Captain Potter holds a Master in Science from the University of South Alabama and was recognized as the Graduate Student of the Year in 2013. In 2018, he attend Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts as a National Security Fellow.
Captain Potter is married to the former Jodi Bateman from Ashburn, Virginia. They are the proud parents of 3 growing young ladies: Makenzie, Madison, and Macie.
Commander David McCown
Executive Officer
Commander David McCown reports aboard having served as the Coast Guard Liaison to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Operations, Plans and Strategy. In this capacity, he aligned Coast Guard and Navy strategic efforts in support of the National Defense Strategy and the National Military Strategy.
Commander McCown is originally from Estes Park, CO and graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2002, earning a Bachelor of Science in Management. His first operational tour was aboard the USCGC BRAMBLE (WLB 392) in Port Huron, MI. He also served on the USCGC BARANOF (WPB 1318) in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
His previous aviation assignments include Aviation Training Center Mobile, AL, Sector Columbia River, OR, Air Station Kodiak, AK and Air Station Cape Cod, MA. Commander McCown was designated a Flight Examiner in the MH-60J and MH-60T and has logged over 3000 hours.
Commander McCown’s personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, three Commendation Medals, three Achievement Medals, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and the Army Achievement Medal. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Arts in Defense and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College.
He is married to the former Joanne Langevin of Warwick, RI.
Master Chief Jacob Linder
Command Master Chief
Master Chief Jacob Linder assumed the duties of Air Station Cape Cod’s Command Master Chief on July 3rd, 2019 after serving as the Leading Chief Petty Officer at Air Station/Sector Field Office Port Angeles, WA. His prior operational assignments include Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi, Air Station Humboldt Bay, Air Station Miami, Air Station San Francisco, and Coast Guard Cutter VALIANT.
Master Chief Linder was a career MH-65D Flight Mechanic and Enlisted Flight Examining Board Chair with over 1,470 flight hours and holds his FAA Airframe and Powerplant certification.
Master Chief Linder attended the Chief Petty Officer Academy in June 2013 and the Senior Enlisted Leadership course in March 2016. He is trained as a Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) peer, group and strategic responder as well as Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) and various other aviation leadership and technical training certifications.
Master Chief Linder is married to retired Senior Chief Boatswain’s Mate Clare M. Linder and they have two children: Troy and Morgan.