Vice Admiral Tom Allan assumed the duties as the Acting Deputy Commandant for Operations (DCO) in January 2025. In this capacity, he is responsible for the development of operational strategy, policy, guidance, and resources that address national priorities. This oversight of Coast Guard missions, programs, and services includes: intelligence; international affairs; cyber; the maritime transportation system; commercial regulations and inspections; search and rescue; maritime security; law enforcement; defense operations; environmental response; contingency planning; and the operational capabilities of cutter, boat, aviation, shore, and deployable specialized forces.
Vice Admiral Allan most recently served as the Deputy Commandant for Mission Support, responsible for leading the 17,000-person organization that delivers the people and systems that enable the Coast Guard to perform its operational missions through all facets of mission support; including the oversight of the recruitment, development, and retention of human capital, the acquisition of complex surface, aviation, and C4IT systems, the overall lifecycle engineering and logistics required to maintain and support Coast Guard assets, information technology, and security.
Vice Admiral Allan’s previous Flag assignments also include: Director of Operations – J3, United States Southern Command (U.S. SOUTHCOM) where he oversaw all operations, activities, and investments within U.S. SOUTHCOM’s vast area of responsibility encompassing 31 countries and 12 dependencies and areas of special sovereignty; Commander, First Coast Guard District, where he oversaw all Coast Guard missions across eight states in the Northeast, including over 2,000 miles of coastline from the U.S.-Canadian border to northern New Jersey and 1300 miles offshore; Assistant Commandant for Resources and Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard (CG-8) where he was responsible for all budgetary, financial and resource management activities relating to the programs and operations of the Coast Guard.
Vice Admiral Allan is a career operations ashore officer with tours across multiple units with a concentration in boat forces operations. His operational tours include Coast Guard Cutter HAMILTON, operating throughout the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center in Suitland, Maryland; Group/Marine Safety Office Portland, Oregon; Response Department Head and Deputy Group Commander for Sector Charleston, South Carolina; and as the Commander of Sector Jacksonville, serving as the Captain of the Port, Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, and Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator, responsible for a $30 billion Maritime Transportation System with 3 nationally strategic ports.
Vice Admiral Allan also served in various staff tours including the Executive Assistant to the 25th Commandant; Chief of Congressional and Governmental Affairs; Special Assistant to the 24th Commandant; Chief of Resources and Requirements for the Deployable Operations Group; and Chief of the Office of Financial Policy and Programs Division.
A native of Bowie, Maryland, Vice Admiral Allan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Management from the U.S. Coast Guard academy. He later earned a Master of Business Administration from the University of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland and completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI.
Vice Admiral Allan’s military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Coast Guard Legion of Merit, the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medal, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.