On March 31, 2019, Ms. Kirkpatrick was appointed in the Senior Executive Service and serves as the Deputy Assistant Commandant for Capability. She is responsible for identifying and providing capabilities, competencies, and capacity along with developing standards for the staffing, training, equipping, sustaining, maintaining, and employing Coast Guard forces to meet mission requirements.
Prior to her appointment in the Senior Executive Service, Ms. Kirkpatrick served for five years as the Coast Guard’s Technical Director for Acquisition Programs. As the Technical Director, she advised the Program Executive Officer and Program Managers on the development and execution of policies, standards, and procedures for acquisition programs.
Ms. Kirkpatrick served 29 years on active duty in the Army, retiring as a Colonel. She served the first 10 years as a Transportation Officer, supporting combat and combat support units personnel and cargo movements for world-wide operations. Her assignments included Ft. Eustis, VA, Military Traffic Management Command, Rotterdam Netherlands, Ft. Bliss, TX, and Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. In 1995, Ms. Kirkpatrick was assessed into the Army Acquisition Corps where she served 19 years of service, culminating in her designation as the certified acquisition professional.
Ms. Kirkpatrick’s premier acquisition assignments include selection for command as the Product Manager for Heavy Tactical Vehicles, and the Chief of Staff for the Secretary of Defense’s Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle Task Force. Between these two positions, she managed and over-saw activities resulting in the development and fielding of life-saving capabilities and systems - 6,100 tactical vehicle armor kits, 3,500 associated spares, and 10,000 MRAPs during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Ms. Kirkpatrick holds a M.A. degree in Procurement and Acquisition Management, and a M.S. in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University. She is a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and is certified as Level III Acquisition Professional through both the Federal Acquisition Institute and Defense Acquisition University. Her awards include two Defense Superior Service Medals, seven Meritorious Service Medals, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Armed Forces Service Medal (Bosnia), the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the NATO Medal (Bosnia).