Coast Guard Promotes Newest Admiral

Coast Guard Atlantic Area Chief of Staff, Captain Christopher C. Colvin, was promoted to the rank of rear admiral lower half today at a ceremony held at the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command. Rear Adm. Colvin is currently assigned as the Chief of Staff for the Coast Guard Atlantic Area, which encompasses the eastern half of the world from the Rocky Mountains to the Persian Gulf. He will report Nov. 8, to the United States Northern Command at Peterson Air Force Base located in Colorado Springs, Colo., where he will serve as Deputy Director of Operations.

Rear Adm. Colvin has served afloat on ten Coast Guard cutters and has been the commanding officer of the Dallas home ported in Charleston, S.C., the Diligence home ported in Wilmington, N.C., and the Cape Upright home ported in Savannah, Ga. Staff assignments have included serving as the Chief of Operations and Chief of Cutter Forces, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Portsmouth, Va.; Chief Staff Officer and Coast Guard Liaison at the U.S. Navy Afloat Training Group, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Technical Section Chief on the Operations Readiness Staff, Coast Guard Pacific Area; and Senior Rescue Coordination Center Controller in Alameda, Calif. Rear Adm. Colvin's personal awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, National Defense Service Medal, and DOT 911 Medal.

Prior to attending Officer Candidate School in 1978, Colvin earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1976. In 1999, Colvin earned a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island. Rear Adm. Colvin is a native of Erie, Pa. He is married to the former Kristin Lynn Johnson of Tucson, Ariz. The Colvin's and their two children reside in Chesapeake, Va.