Rear Admiral Richard A. Appelbaum became Chief, Office of Law Enforcement and Defense Operations, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC, in June 1992. Rear Admiral Appelbaum directs several Coast Guard programs, including: enforcement of laws and treaties; operational and military readiness; ocean operations; intelligence; and investigative and security activities. He also directs programs regarding the allocation, distribution, functional assignment and status of Coast Guard aircraft (fixed wing and helicopters) and ships (high and medium endurance cutters and patrol boats).
Prior to his present assignment, Rear Admiral Appelbaum served as Commander, National Pollution Funds Center, located in Ballston, VA. He was the first officer to hold that position. He was responsible for managing the billion-dollar Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund established by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.
Rear Admiral Appenbaum's other flag assignments were as Chief, Office of Navigation Safety and Waterway Services, at Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC, and as Commander, Ninth Coast Guard District and Maritime Defense Zone Sector Nine, headquartered in Cleveland, OH.
Rear Admiral Appelbaum received a Bachelor of Science Degree, in 1961, from the Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT, and a law degree, in 1970, from George Washington University.
Rear Admiral Appelbaum, as a Coast Guard law specialist, has served as: Legal Officer of the Seventh District (Miami, FL) and the Eleventh District (Long Beach, CA); the Service's General Court-Martial Military Judge; and the Head of the Law Facility at the Coast Guard Academy.
Other shore assignments included command of the Long Range Navigation (LORAN) Station at Hokkaido, Japan, and Chief of Intelligence and Law Enforcement and Chief of Operations at the Seventh District.
Rear Admiral Appelbaum's seagoing assignments included command of the cutters Cape York (Pascagoula, MS), Cape Florida (Anacortes, WA), and Vigorous (New London, CT). He also served on the cutter Salvia (Mobile, AL), and as Executive Officer of the Cutters Papaw (Charleston, SC), Eagle (the Academy's training barque), and Westwind (Milwaukee, WI).
Rear Admiral Appelbaum has received the Legion of Merit (two awards), the Meritorious Service MEdal and four Coast Guard Commendation Medals.
A native of Chicago, Illinois, Rear Admiral Appelbaum has called Miami, Florida, his home since 1950. He is married to the former Maureen Eddy Carr of Nashville, Tennessee. The Appelbaums have three sons: Kevin, Paul and David.
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