Sector Key West

CDR Fields assumed duties as Sector Key West Deputy Commander in May 2023, where he serves as Alternate Captain of the Port, overseeing three multi-mission stations, six patrol boats, and an Aids to Navigation Team across 55,000 sq. nautical miles. Previously, he served as the Staff Judge Advocate for Joint Interagency Task Force South (JIATFS) in Key West, Florida. At JIATFS CDR Fields provided 24/7/365 legal support to a two-star command in support of counterdrug operations. Prior to that, CDR Fields was at the U.S. Air Force, Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama. Before attending War College, he served as the Logistics Department Head at USCG Sector Anchorage; the largest Sector AOR in the USCG, providing mission support to 11 subunits. Additionally, he stood duty as a Search and Rescue (SAR) Mission Coordinator, coordinating interagency SAR response in the unforgiving maritime domain of Alaska.

Prior assignments include serving as International Operations Officer at the Defense Institute of International Legal Studies, where he planned and executed international engagements with over 50 partner nations, focusing on maritime law/security, Human Rights, and the Law of Armed Conflict. CDR Fields also served as the Advanced Operational Law Fellow at the Center for Law and Military Operations (CLAMO). CLAMO is a joint, interagency, and multinational center responsible for collecting, synthesizing, and disseminating data relating to military operations to develop doctrine and training materiel. During this assignment, CDR Fields deployed as the Deputy Staff Judge Advocate for Special Operations Joint Task Force-Afghanistan (SOJTF-A) and the NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan (NSOCC-A), a two-star command responsible for all in-country NATO and coalition special operations forces from over 25 partner nations. The SOJTF-A / NSOCC-A mission spanned the entire spectrum of special operations for counterterrorism and counterinsurgency. CDR Fields was the first CGJAG to deploy with SOF in support of combat operations.

His other assignments include the 17th Coast Guard District in Juneau, Alaska, providing strategic legal advice to the D17 Commander and subunits. He also served as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, assisting DOJ with prosecutions, including environmental crimes, assaults on federal officers, and homicides. CDR Fields was assigned as a Staff Attorney in the Office of Claims and Litigation (COMDT CG-0945) and the Office of Legal and Defense Services (COMDT CG-094M). Before becoming an active-duty member, he was in private practice and served a stint with the Alaska Attorney General’s Office.

A native of Massachusetts, CDR Fields enlisted in the USCGR in 1994. He graduated from Western New Mexico University in 1997 with a B.S. in Zoology and Chemistry; Eastern New Mexico University in 2001 with a M.S. in Biology; the University of New Mexico in 2004 with a J.D.; the U.S. Army, Judge Advocate General’s Legal Center and School in 2015 with a LL.M. in Military Operational Law; and the U.S. Air Force, Air War College in 2021 with a M.A. in Strategic Studies.

CDR Fields’s military decorations reflect the incredible camaraderie and work-ethic of those with whom he has been blessed to serve and include the Defense Meritorious Service Medal (2), Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal (4), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, NATO Medal, Commandant’s Letter of Commendation (4), together with various unit and service awards.