COMMAND
SECTOR COMMANDER
CAPT Brandy N. Parker
Captain Parker is the Commander, Sector Upper Mississippi River and is responsible for Coast Guard operations across the Heartland, including 11 states and 2200 miles of commercially navigable waterways along the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois River basins. She leads over 245 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel and 900 Auxiliarists, including five river tenders and three Marine Safety Detachments. CAPT Parker is the Captain of the Port, Officer-in-Charge Marine Inspections, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, and Federal On-Scene Coordinator for the Sector Upper Mississippi River area of responsibility.
Captain Parker’s previous assignment was as the Eighth Coast Guard District Staff Judge Advocate where she led one of the largest and most legally complex legal offices in the Coast Guard, providing legal advice to the District Commander, District Senior Staff and Commanders of over 90 operational units, including 7 sectors, 4 Air Stations, 10 Marine Safety Units, and 45 Cutters.
Captain Parker has also served as: Chief of the Office of Information and Intelligence Law (CG-LII) overseeing legal services to the Assistant Commandant for Intelligence, Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command, and the Assistant Commandant for C5IT (CG-6); as the Logistics Department Head at Sector Long Island Sound, where she was the Commanding Officer of Military Personnel and stood the watch as a Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator; as the Chief of Coastal Operations Law at NORAD and U.S. Northern Command in Colorado Springs, CO; and, as legal counsel for the Office of Prevention, Inspections and Compliance (CG-5PC) at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC. Captain Parker was also the first assigned legal counsel for the Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center in Suitland, Maryland where she established the unit’s first in-house intelligence oversight program. Other attorney assignments include serving as a Trial Attorney at the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section and as a Staff Attorney at the Eighth Coast Guard District in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Captain Parker received her Juris Doctor (J.D.) with a certificate in Environmental Law from Tulane University School of Law in New Orleans, Louisiana, and is a member of the Texas Bar and the U.S. Supreme Court Bar. She also has a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and a Master of Public Administration. She enlisted in the Coast Guard in March 1997, and received her commission upon graduation from Officer Candidate School in May 2000.
DEPUTY SECTOR COMMANDER
CDR Anne E. Besser
CDR Besser is the Deputy Sector Commander for Sector Upper Mississippi River (UMR), overseeing Coast Guard operations across an 11-state area with 2,200 miles of navigable waterways, including the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, and Illinois Rivers. She leads 270 Active Duty, Reserve, and civilian personnel, 800 Auxiliary members, five 65’/75’ Inland River Buoy Tender cutters, and three Marine Safety Detachments, ensuring maritime safety, security, and environmental protection while facilitating over $42 billion in annual economic activity. She also serves as the alternate Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, Officer-in-Charge Marine Inspection, and Captain of the Port for all Sector missions.
Previously, she was Chief, Marine Transportation Systems Management School and Container Inspection Training and Assist Team Supervisor at Coast Guard Training Center Yorktown (2020-2024), where she oversaw course delivery and curriculum development for the Waterways Management, Explosives Handling Supervisor, Facility Inspector, and Container Inspector courses, as well as the execution of the Coast Guard & Army’s Memorandum of Agreement to provide HAZMAT cargo pre-inspection & sealing of vital cargo for deploying forces. She served in Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach (2017-2020), in a variety of vessel safety and security capacities, from Journeyman Inspector, Domestic Vessel Branch Chief, and acting Chief Inspections. She was responsible for the inspections oversight of over 300 U.S.-Flagged container and cargo ships, high-speed ferries, towing vessels, small passenger vessels, and barges. She also led the concentrated inspection campaign for the nation’s largest fleet of overnight accommodation vessels after the tragic fire on the M/V CONCEPTION. Prior to LA/LB, she worked in the Office of Design and Engineering Standards at Coast Guard Headquarters (2013-2017), focusing on regulations and policies for Offshore Support Vessels and representing the U.S. on the Working Group for a new strategic framework at the IMO's 116th Council. She also served as an Apprentice Marine Inspector, Port State Control Branch Chief, Waterways Management Division Supervisor, and Command Duty Officer at Sector Anchorage (2009-2011).
Enlisting in the Coast Guard in 2002, she began her Prevention Ashore career as a Marine Science Technician and was commissioned in 2008 from the Coast Guard’s Officer Candidate School (OCS). Prior to OCS, she served as a reservist on and off active duty conducting Port State Control at MSO/Sector Boston and inspecting regulated waterfront facilities at MSO St. Louis/Sector Upper Mississippi River. She holds a B.S. in Architectural Studies from Norwich University and a M.S. in Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering from the University of New Orleans.
COMMAND SENIOR CHIEF
Senior Chief Edward Van Riper
Senior Chief Edward Van Riper assumed the responsibilities of the Command Senior Chief of Sector Upper Mississippi River in July 2024. His previous assignment was as a student at the United States Army Sergeant’s Major Academy Class 74.
Senior Chief Van Riper’s previous assignments include Sector Miami Boarding Team Chief, Security Chief at Base Los Angeles/ Long Beach, CA; Security Chief at Air Station Borinquen, Aguadilla, PR; Supervisor of VBST Texas City, Texas City, TX; Armory Supervisor aboard CGC MOHAWK, Key West, FL; Boarding Officer at Sector San Francisco, San Francisco, CA; Armory duty Sector Baltimore, Curtis Bay, MD; and Boat Crew Member at Station Curtis Bay, Curtis Bay, MD.
Senior Chief Van Riper holds an Associate of Science Degree in Public Service and Management from Indiana Wesleyan University, a Bachelor of Science in Military Leadership from Excelsior University, and a Master of Management with a concentration in Organizational Leadership from Excelsior University. Senior Chief Van Riper is a graduate of the Chief Petty Officer’s Academy Class CCXXIII and Senior Enlisted Leadership Course Class 87. He is also a graduate of various service schools including the Army Sergeant’s Major Academy Class 74, Coast Guard Leadership & Management Course, U. S. Army Civilian Police Academy, Applied Suicide Intervention Training, Critical Incident Stress Management, Operational Stress Control, Joint Professional Military Education Phase I and II, and the Basic Boarding Officer Course.
Originally from Texas, Senior Chief Van Riper enlisted in the United States Coast Guard in January 2003. His personal awards include three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, and five Commandant’s Letter of Commendation Ribbons, all with the operational distinguishing device. In addition to various other personal and unit level awards, he wears the Response Operations Ashore Insignia, Advanced Boat Forces Insignia, and the Boat Forces Operations Insignia.