Rear Admiral Norman T. Saunders took command of the Seventh Coast Guard District in June 1997. The Seventh District is the busiest Coast Guard district and covers 1.8 million square miles encompassing the waters around Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and the entire Caribbean.
Prior to this assignment he was Assistant Commandant for Operations, U.S. Coast Guard. His other flag assignments have included Commander, Military Personnel Command, located at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. He was the first officer to hold that position. Rear Admiral Saunders also served as the Commander, Second Coast Guard District in St. Louis, Mo.
During a previous tour in the Seventh District, Rear Admiral Saunders served as Chief, Operations Division and Chief, Intelligence and Law Enforcement Branch. HE also commanded Coast Guard Groups Key West, Fla., and Rockaway (Ft. Tilden, N.Y.), and Coast Guard cutters Dependable (Panama City, Fla.), Point Orient (DaNang, RVN), and Cape Hatteras (San Pedro, Calif.). He served as Executive Officer on the Coast Guard cutter Courageous (Port Canaveral, Fla.), and as a Deck Watch Officer on the Coast Guard cutter Acushnet (Portland, Maine), and in two Headquarters staff assignments.
Rear Admiral Saunders is a 1964 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy. He attended the Naval Post Graduate School and earned a Master of Science degree in Operations Research in 1972. In 1985, Rear Admiral Saunders graduated from the National War College.
A Vietnam veteran, Rear Admiral Saunders’ military awards include the Legion of Merit with two gold stars, the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V, the Meritorious Service Medal with one gold star, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal with one gold star, the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V, the Coast Guard Achievement Medal, and other campaign and service awards.
Originally from Amityville, New York, Rear Admiral Saunders and his wife, Chris, from Pasadena, California, have two children.