Commander Ian Starr is currently the Commanding Officer aboard CGC Resolute (WMEC 620).
CDR Starr was previously a detailee to the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, where he served as the United States’ Competent National Authority under Article 17 of the 1988 Vienna Drug Convention. He also served as the Secretary of State’s certification authority for cases under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and led an interagency team in negotiating bilateral maritime agreements with partner nations.
CDR Starr’s afloat assignments include Executive Officer of the Coast Guard’s largest medium-endurance cutter Alex Haley, in Kodiak, Alaska (2019-21); Commanding Officer of the patrol boat Chandeleur in Ketchikan, Alaska (2014-16); Commanding Officer of the patrol boat Aquidneck in Manama, Bahrain (2013-14); Navigator aboard the guided missile destroyer Chung-Hoon in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (2008-10), and Deck Watch Officer aboard the medium-endurance cutter Diligence in Wilmington, North Carolina (2006-08).
Prior staff assignments include serving as a Federal Executive Fellow at the U.S. Naval Institute in Annapolis, Maryland (2021-22); liaison to the Joint Chiefs of Staff J5 (Strategy, Plans & Policy) directorate at the Pentagon (2017-19); and Command Duty Officer at the National Command Center (NCC) in Washington, D.C (2010-13).
In 2022, CDR Starr received the “Amicitia Et Pax” insignia from Carlos Vecchio, the Venezuelan Ambassador to the United States. In 2020, he received the Coast Guard’s Hopley Yeaton Superior Cutterman Award. In 2019, he was selected as the Joint Staff J5 Western Hemisphere Action Officer of the Year. CDR Starr earned his Surface Warfare Officer qualification in 2010 and his Permanent Cutterman qualification in 2014. He has been awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal and various other personal, unit, team, and service awards.
CDR Starr graduated from the Coast Guard Academy in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science & Government. In 2016, he earned a master’s degree in Defense and Security Studies from the Naval War College in Newport, RI. In 2024, he graduated from MIT’s Seminar XXI national security fellowship program.