Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger assumed the duties as the 29th Vice Commandant in May 2014.
Prior to this, Vice Admiral Neffenger served as the Deputy Commandant for Operations, where he directed strategy, policy, resources and doctrine for the employment of Coast Guard forces globally. He is a recognized expert in crisis management, port security, and oversight of the commercial maritime industry. He most notably served as the Deputy National Incident Commander for the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the largest and most complex in U.S. history. Other Flag assignments include Director of Coast Guard Strategic Management and Doctrine, and Commander of the Ninth Coast Guard District in charge of Coast Guard operations throughout the Great Lakes and Saint Lawrence Seaway region.
Vice Admiral Neffenger also served as Commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach where he was the Captain of the Port and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator. Additionally, he was the Budget Officer of the Coast Guard, the Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Territory of American Samoa, and a student engineer on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin among other operational and staff assignments.
Commissioned in 1982 through Coast Guard Officer Candidate School, Vice Admiral Neffenger holds an MPA from Harvard University, an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College, and an MA in Business Management from Central Michigan University. He earned his BA from Baldwin Wallace University. Vice Admiral Neffenger is a member of the Pacific Council on International Policy and a former fellow on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Click here to see his biography from his previous assignment as Deputy Commander for Operations.
Additional Bio Information
A native of Elyria, Ohio, Neffenger was commissioned in 1982 at Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, Va., and has had a diverse career of operational and staff assignments in emergency response, commercial maritime industry oversight and general maritime law enforcement. Of note, he commanded Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach where he was the Captain of the Port and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, served as a Coast Guard Fellow to the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, as the Coast Guard Liaison Officer to the Territory of American Samoa, as engineer on U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Gallatin, and as chief of the Office of Budget and Programs at Coast Guard Headquarters.
Rear Admiral Peter V. Neffenger will assume command of the Ninth Coast Guard District in May, 2008.
His area of responsibility spans the five Great Lakes, the Saint Lawrence Seaway and parts of the surrounding states including 6,700 miles of shoreline and 1,500 miles of international border.
As the region’s operational commander, he leads over 6,900 Coast Guard active duty, reserve, civilian and auxiliary men and women serving at 74 subordinate units and on the district staff in delivering the world’s premier multi-mission services in search and rescue, marine safety, environmental protection, maritime law enforcement, aids to navigation and icebreaking.
A native of Elyria, Ohio, Rear Admiral Neffenger was commissioned in 1982 at Coast Guard Officer Candidate School in Yorktown, Virginia.
He is a marine safety professional with a diverse career of operational and staff assignments across the spectrum of Coast Guard missions.
Notable among these, he was captain of the port, federal maritime security coordinator and commander of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles – Long Beach, California, where he was the senior Coast Guard operational commander for an area of responsibility encompassing over 300 miles of Southern California coast, including the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex – the nation’s largest.
He has served in five marine safety field assignments, as an engineer on USCGC Gallatin (WHEC721), as the Coast Guard liaison officer to the Territory of American Samoa and as a Coast Guard fellow on the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee.
Rear Admiral Neffenger most recently served as chief of the Office of Budget and Programs at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC, where he was the principal budget advisor to the commandant of the Coast Guard.
His responsibilities included reviewing all Coast Guard programs and developing and defending the Coast Guard’s $9 billion budget before the administration and congress.
Rear Admiral Neffenger has earned three master’s degrees: in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island; in public administration from Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government; and in business management from Central Michigan University.
He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea, Ohio.
Rear Admiral Neffenger has received numerous military and civic awards and was recognized by the Coast Guard Foundation for his accomplishments in American Samoa and by the Department of Justice for his assistance in prosecuting environmental crimes in Northern California.