Sector Key West Commander
CAPTAIN Joshua Empen
CAPT Josh Empen assumed the duties as Sector Key West Commander and Captain of the Port in June, 2025. As the Sector Commander, he leads over 700 Coast Guardsmen and Auxiliarypersonnel who conduct vital Coast Guard missions across 55,000 square nautical miles that include the Florida Keys.
CAPT Josh Empen previously served as the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations at Joint Interagency Task Force West at the United States Indo-Pacific Command. In this role, he oversaw Department of Defense counterdrug activities and intelligence support to law enforcement partners that identified, targeted, and combatted cartels, transnational organized criminals, and illicit drug trafficking. His collaboration with joint service, interagency, and international partners resulted in the interdiction of illicit drugs and precursor chemicals, the identification of drug trafficking networks, and the disruption of financial criminal activities. These efforts aimed to reduce threats to American lives and bolster national security.
Throughout his 23 year career, CAPT Empen has held various operational and staff positions in both the Atlantic and Pacific areas of operation conducting defense operations, combating transnational criminal networks, securing maritime borders, overseeing disaster response, leading search and rescue cases, conducting alien migrant and narcotics interdiction, and safeguarding U.S. maritime commerce. His assignments include Deputy Sector Commander at Coast Guard Forces Micronesia in Santa Rita, Guam; Pacific Area Current Operations Branch Chief in Alameda, California; Executive Officer of Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay, Georgia; Portfolio Manager at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C.; Commanding Officer of USCGC
BLACKFIN in Santa Barbara, California; Executive Officer of USCGC MAUI in Manama, Bahrain; and Deck Watch Officer on USCGC VALIANT in Miami Beach, Florida.
Originally from Camanche, Iowa, CAPT Empen graduated from the Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor of Science in Management in 2002. He earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 2007, a Master of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the University of Florida in 2008, and a Master of Arts in National
Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College in 2012.
CAPT Empen's awards include Defense Meritorious Service Medals, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medals, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and various personal, unit, and operational awards.