COMMAND
Commanding Officer, CDR Armell Balmaceda
Commander Armell V. Balmaceda assumed the duties of Commanding Officer at Air Station New Orleans, Louisiana in June 2023. The air station operates three H60 helicopters and provides 24-hour mission support to the Coast Guard’s Eighth District in the busiest portion of the Gulf of Mexico.
He most recently served as the Engineering Officer at Air Station Clearwater, Florida where he led the largest department in Coast Guard aviation with 329 personnel and directed the maintenance and logistics for 10 H-60s and four C-130s across an area of responsibility spanning 1.8 million square miles.
His previous tours include assignments as the H-60 Chief Aeronautical Engineer at the Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, Assistant Engineering Officer and H-65 Flight Examiner & Instructor Pilot at Air Station Savannah, Georgia, and duty standing H-65 pilot at Sector / Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.
Following his graduation from the United States Coast Guard Academy in 2004, he was selected as one of five newly commissioned officers to be assigned directly to Naval Flight Training in Pensacola, Florida for the first time in Academy history. He earned his “Wings of Gold” in 2006. He also graduated from the National Graduate School with a Master of Science Degree in Quality Systems Management and Purdue University with a Master of Science Degree in Aeronautics and Astronautics.
He has accumulated over 3,000 hours of helicopter flight time and is certified as an FAA Helicopter Airline Transport Pilot. He is the recipient of multiple personal and unit military awards indictive of a career public servant.
Executive Officer, CDR Scott Koser
Commander (CDR) Koser assumed his current duties as Executive Officer of Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans in June 2023 following one year as the Operations Officer / Chief Pilot.
A native of Danville, PA, he graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2005, earning a Bachelor of Science in Operations Research and Computer Analysis. His first operational assignment was aboard the 225’ Cutter WALNUT (Honolulu, HI) where he maintained Aids to Navigation and conducted CG Law Enforcement, Fisheries, and Search and Rescue missions.
Upon completion of US Navy Flight School in Pensacola, FL, he served as an Aircraft Commander in the MH-60 J/T at Air Station Cape Cod, MA. His next aviation tour was at Air Station Elizabeth City, NC, where he served as a Flight Examiner and the rotary-wing Assistant Operations Officer. He received a Master of Education in Learning, Design, and Technology, along with a Post-Baccalaureate in Distance Learning from Penn State University in 2018. His follow-on staff tour was at Training Center Cape May, where he served as the Performance Systems Branch Chief and Training Officer at the Coast Guard’s sole enlisted accession site.
His personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and three Coast Guard Achievement Medals.
Command Master Chief, AETCM Veronica Peters
Master Chief Veronica Peters assumed the duties as Command Master Chief for Air Station New Orleans in August 2020 with 23 years of Coast Guard service. As the senior enlisted member at Air Station New Orleans, she advises the command on matters affecting the well-being, morale, and discipline of the command’s enlisted personnel.
Master Chief Peters’ previous assignments include HC-130J Avionics Electrical Technician Platform Manager, Air Station Elizabeth City, NC; A- and C-School instructor, Aviation Technical Training Center, Elizabeth City, NC; MH-65 Division, Aviation Training Center, Mobile, AL; Polar Operations Division, Mobile, AL; HH-65 Division, Air Station Miami, FL; Avionics Technician (AVT) A-School at Spartan School of Aeronautics, Tulsa, OK; Airman Program, Air Station Miami, FL; Small Boat Station Key West, FL; Basic Training, Cape May, NJ Recruit Company N-151.
Master Chief Peters holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Professional Aeronautics from Embry Riddle and holds a FAA Airframe and Powerplant Mechanics License. She is also a graduate of various service schools including the Chief Petty Officer’s Academy Class 207.
Originally, from Winslow, Arkansas, Master Chief Peters enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in July 1997. Her personal awards include three Coast Guard Commendation Medals and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, all with the operational distinguishing device, in addition to various other personal and unit level awards; she wears the Coast Guard Aircrew Insignia.