help_outline Skip to main content

News / Articles

Captain John W. Reed U.S. Coast Guard Commander, Coast Guard Sector Charleston

Published on 4/4/2019
Captain Reed assumed command of Sector Charleston in August 2017. As Sector Commander, he oversees Coast Guard activities and field units along the coasts of South Carolina and Georgia. Sector is comprised of a command and staff element, support services, and teams to conduct marine safety, security and stewardship missions. Sector field units include a Marine Safety Unit, two Patrol Boats, an Inland Construction Tender, four Boat Stations, three Aids to Navigation Teams and a Detached Duty Office.
Captain Reed served in a variety of operational as well as command and staff assignments. Most recently, he served as Executive Assistant to the Assistant Commandant for Intelligence. Prior to that assignment, he was a Research Fellow at National Intelligence University’s Center for Strategic Intelligence Research. His afloat experience includes assignments aboard USCGC MELLON (WHEC 717), USCGC CHASE (WHEC 718), USCGC TAHOMA (WMEC 908), and USCGC ASPEN (WLB 208).
From 2012-2015, he served as the Response Department Head, then Deputy Commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West. Prior to his assignment to Key West, he spent two years at the U.S. Embassy in Port au Prince, Haiti, as the Senior Defense Official and Defense Attaché. Additional staff assignments included: The Interdiction Committee Staff and Liaison to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, Caribbean Planner at Joint Interagency Task Force – South, and Staff Officer at the Coast Guard’s Office of Defense Operations.
A native of Canoga Park, California, Captain Reed is a 1993 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. His academic degrees include a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Coast Guard Academy and a Master of Military Studies from United States Marine Corps University’s Command and Staff College.
Captain Reed’s personal awards include the Defense Meritorious Service, Meritorious Service, Joint Service Commendation, and Coast Guard Commendation Medals.
Captain Reed and his wife, Jennifer, have been married for 24 years. They reside in Charleston, South Carolina and have four grown children.
Captain John W. Reed
U.S. Coast Guard
Commander, Coast Guard Sector Charleston