RADM Gilreath assumed the duties as Assistant Commandant of Capability (CG-7), in Washington, DC, in July 2024. His responsibilities include identifying and providing capabilities, competencies, and capacity along with service wide policy for the staffing, training, equipping, and employing Coast Guard forces to meet mission requirements.
His previous flag officer assignments include Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District where he was responsible for Coast Guard operations in the Mid-Atlantic region including the Key Bridge Response; and Commander, Personnel Service Center where he was responsible for implementing personnel policies across the service.
Some of his previous assignments included serving as Chief of Staff for the Eighth Coast Guard District; Chief of the Coast Guard’s Office of Maritime and International Law; Sector Commander and Deputy of Sector Honolulu; Chief of Prevention Law within the Office of Maritime and International Law; Commanding Officer of Marine Safety Unit Baton Rouge; Staff Attorney at the Eighth District Legal Office; Marine Inspector at Marine Safety Office New Orleans; and deck watch officer aboard the Coast Guard Cutter NORTHLAND.
In 2005, he served as a unified commander for a multi-agency task force conducting urban search and rescue operations in the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina. A 1991 graduate from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy with a B.S. in Government, he received his Juris Doctorate degree with honors from Tulane Law School in 2001 and is a member of the bar association in the state of Louisiana.
He completed a one-year fellowship as a Senior Military Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a nonpartisan think tank based in Washington, DC. RADM Gilreath’s military awards include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal, five Legions of Merit, two Meritorious Service Medals, a Coast Guard Commendation Medal, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal. He was honored by the Judge Advocates Association with the Coast Guard Outstanding Career Judge Advocate Award in 2011 and by the American Bar Association as the Coast Guard’s Outstanding Military Service Career Judge Advocate in 2019.