DEPUTY COMMANDER
Cmdr. John Suckow
DEPUTY COMMANDER, SECTOR NORTH CAROLINA
Cmdr. John Suckow assumed the duties as deputy commander, Sector North Carolina in May 2025. As deputy, he assists the sector commander with leading more than 580 Active and Reserve Coast Guard women and men operating eight Boat Stations, three Aids to Navigation Teams, two Marine Safety Detachments, two Sector Field Offices, and one cutter in addition to 750 Coast Guard Auxiliarists. His area of responsibility spans 3,375 nautical miles of inland, river, and coastal waterways, two military and economic strategic ports, and three interstate lakes. Duties and responsibilities of Sector North Carolina include Captain of the Port, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Office in Charge Marine Inspection, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, and Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator.
Prior to this assignment, Suckow served as Sector North Carolina Chief of Response from July 2023 to May 2025. He was responsible for all search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, port and waterways security, and maritime environmental response operations throughout North Carolina. Before reporting to Sector North Carolina, he was the International Fisheries Team Lead at USCG Arctic District (formerly Seventeenth Coast Guard District) Enforcement Branch in Juneau, Alaska, managing the district’s counter Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing operations on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean.
Suckow enlisted in the Coast Guard in 2003. Upon graduation from boot camp, he reported to the USCGC Chinook (WPB 87308) in New London, Connecticut, where he struck Boatswain’s Mate. He was selected for Officer Candidate School in 2006 and upon graduation reported to Sector Southeastern New England’s Incident Management Division, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. In 2012, the Coast Guard sent him to graduate school for Performance Technology and Instructional Design at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. His follow-on tour was at TRACEN Cape May, New Jersey, managing the design and updates to Recruit Training. His next assignment was Incident Management Division Chief at Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach from 2017-2020.
Cmdr. Suckow’s military awards include one Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, four Coast Guard Commendation Medals, ten Meritorious Team Commendations, and other personal and team awards. Originally from Keansburg, New Jersey, he currently lives in Wilmington with his wife Jessica and their son Hayden, 11, and their daughter, Amaya, 8.