CHIEF OF STAFF
CAPT Timothy C. Sommella
Chief of Staff
Coast Guard Heartland District
Captain Timothy C. Sommella assumed the duties of the U.S. Coast Guard Heartland District Chief of Staff in June 2026. In this role, he serves as the District Commander’s primary senior advisor and coordinates the engagements of the District Staff with field units, stakeholders, and higher headquarters offices to advance the District Commander’s objectives. The Heartland District oversees Coast Guard safety, security, and stewardship missions from the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of America, throughout the Gulf coast from the panhandle of Florida to our Nation’s border with Mexico, and further includes inland waterways of the Mississippi, Ohio, Missouri, and Tennessee River systems.
He has held a variety of sea-going command and staff positions, including, 12 years on seven U.S. Coast Guard and Navy warships, and service as the 1st Commanding Officer of USCGC Calhoun (WMSL 759), the 10th National Security Cutter. His other shipboard operational assignments include Commanding Officer of USCGC Dauntless (WMEC 624) homeported out of Galveston, Texas, and Pensacola, Florida. He served as Executive Officer of USCGC Valiant (WMEC 621) and Deck Watch Officer on the USCGC Venturous (WMEC 621). He was a former Navigator and Force Protection Officer of the USS O’Brien (DD 975) forward deployed to Japan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He commanded USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) in the Arabian Gulf during Operation Iraqi Freedom and USCGC Padre (WPB 1328), a 123-foot patrol boat in Key West, Florida.
Captain Sommella has completed a number of staff positions throughout his career specializing in public policy, national security, international affairs, congressional outreach, budgeting, and human capital planning. Most recently, served as the Deputy Assistant Commandant for Operational Integration and Response Policy (CG-3/5R). He previously served as the U.S. Coast Guard’s Chief of Congressional and Governmental Affairs. Captain Sommella was an Executive Assistant to the U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Commander and Defense Force East, Special Assistant to the Under Secretary for National Protection and Programs Directorate at the Department of Homeland Security, and Coast Guard Liaison and Department of Homeland Security Attache at U.S. Embassy Port-au-Prince. Captain Sommella is a former program examiner in the White House with the Office of Management and Budget where he focused on veteran employment and defense health initiatives. Additionally, he completed assignments as a reviewer with the Office of Budget and Programs responsible for coordination of legislative analysis and policy evaluation of the service’s budget submissions along with time as a planning officer with responsibility for defining operational requirements and staffing levels for shore-side units across the nation.
He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in 2000 with high honors earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Government and completed his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2007. He completed a Master’s Degree in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2020 where he earned his Joint Professional Military Education certificate and served as an Arleigh Burke International Fellow. Captain Sommella is also a member of the Association of Government Accountants and Certified Government Financial Manager.
Captain Sommella’s personal awards include the Legion of Merit Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. He is a former Abshire-Inamori Fellow at the Center for Strategic International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC. He is a qualified Navy Surface Warfare Officer and permanent Coast Guard Cutterman.