RESPONSE DEPARTMENT

SECTOR NORTH CAROLINA

Commander Courtney Sergent
Response Department Head

Commander Courtney Sergent assumed the duties as Sector North Carolina Chief of Response in July, 2020.  She is responsible for all search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, port and waterways security, and maritime environmental response operations in an area spanning 3,375 nautical miles of inland, river, and coastal waterways, 2 military and economic strategic ports, and three interstate lakes.  She also serves as a Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator and oversees eight Coast Guard boat stations throughout the state of North Carolina.  Prior to this assignment Commander Sergent served as the Chief of Enforcement at Sector Mobile, Alabama, managing the deployment of Sector assets in the execution of Ports, Waterways, and Coastal Security, Living Marine Resources, and Recreational/Commercial Vessel Safety operations for a three state area of responsibility. She also served as the Operations Section Chief for Hurricane MICHAEL, a category five storm which made a devastating direct hit on Mexico Beach, Florida in October 2018. She directed 18 field units through pre-storm staging, deployed rescue assets following catastrophic storm impacts, and facilitated the reconstitution of all maritime ports and Sector units.

Commander Sergent graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2004 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Marine and Environmental Science. Her first assignment was as a Deck Watch Officer on USCGC ACTIVE (WMEC-618), home ported in Port Angeles, WA.  In 2006, she reported to USCG Headquarters in Washington, DC and served as a maritime law enforcement expert in the Office of Law Enforcement. From there, Commander Sergent transferred to Sector Puget Sound and served as a Command Duty Officer from 2009 to 2012. It was here that she also earned qualifications in Advanced Boat Forces Operations and Pollution Response. Commander Sergent studied ocean law and policy, and earned a Masters of Marine Affairs degree from the University of Washington in 2014.  Following graduate school, Commander Sergent served at District Seventeen in Juneau, Alaska from 2014 to 2018 as the Domestic Fisheries Law Enforcement Section Chief, where she oversaw federal fisheries law enforcement operations in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding Alaska to protect the largest U.S. domestic fisheries in the nation.

Commander Sergent’s military awards include three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, six Coast Guard Meritorious Team Commendations, and other personal and team awards.  Originally from Baker City, Oregon, she currently lives in Wilmington, North Carolina with her husband, Michael, and sons Maverick (6) and Colt (5).