Command Master Chief Charlie F. Salls assumed the duties of the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Area on June 14th, 2024. He is the principal advisor to the Commander on operations across all mission areas to include Coast Guard support to Combatant Commands with a focus on the professionalism and well-being of the total workforce and their families. Coast Guard Atlantic Area Sentinels serve from the Rocky Mountains to the Arabian Gulf, from the Arctic to Antarctica.
Previously, Command Master Chief Salls served as the 3rd Deputy Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, enhancing the reach, engagement, and support of the Office of the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard to Sentinels across the globe, and advising senior executive leadership on all matters affecting the total workforce and their families.
Born and raised in Venezuela, Master Chief Salls enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard in 1996. His previous CSEL assignments include the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, the Coast Guard Personnel Service Center, and Coast Guard Sector San Juan. His other assignments include command of cutters CHINOOK, TARPON, HAWKSBILL, and Station Yankeetown, Assistant School Chief for Boatswain's Mate "A" School, Executive Petty Officer of Station Cape May, Deck Watch Officer aboard cutter MELLON, Operations Petty Officer of Station Charleston, and duty aboard cutter DURABLE.
Master Chief Salls is a graduate of the Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer's Academy Class 132 and the Coast Guard Senior Enlisted Leadership Course Class 46. He is a Next-Jump Leadership Academy, Asian Pacific Center for Security Studies, and a National Defense University Keystone 21-2 Fellow. He has completed an AA in Liberal Arts and a BS in Homeland Security and Emergency Management from Thomas Edison State University.
Master Chief Salls' personal awards include the Legion of Merit, four Meritorious Service Medals, three Coast Guard Commendation Medals, three Coast Guard Achievement Medals, two Commandant's Letter of Commendation Ribbon Bars, and various service, unit, and team awards. He wears the Officer in Charge Afloat and Ashore devices, the permanent Cutterman, Coxswain, and Boat Forces Operations (advanced) insignias, and the Commandant’s Staff badge.