Vice Admiral James Paul Steward assumed the duty of Commander, Pacific Area and Third Coast Guard District in June 1981.
A 1946 graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy, Admiral Stewart has served on five ships commanding one of them. His shore assignments have been in the areas of electrical engineering, research and development and administration. Previous assignments include Commander of the Coast Guard’s First Coast Guard District, Chief, Office of Research and Development at Coast Guard Headquarters and Chief of Staff at Coast Guard Headquarters.
Admiral Stewart was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering in June 1954 from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
His military awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, and Coast Guard Commendation Medal.
He is from Covington, Kentucky. He and his wife, the former Norma Kathryn S. of Defiance, Ohio, live in San Francisco, California. They have one daughter, Mary Kathryn.
Chronology of Duty Assignments
James Paul Stewart was graduated from Highlands High School, Ft. Thomas, Kentucky on June 12, 1942. He attended the University of Cincinnati for one year in the School of Engineering.
He was graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, New London, Connecticut with a commission as Ensign on June 5, 1946. He was also awarded a Bachelor of Science Degree in Engineering.
From the Academy he was assigned to the Great Lakes region for four years during which he served as a junior deck officer on the Coast Guard Icebreaker Mackinaw operating out of Cheboygan, Michigan and later as Executive Officer on the Buoy Tender Tupelo, based at Toledo, Ohio. He spent the following year as a student at the Electronics Maintenance School, U.S. Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Illinois.
From July 1950 to January 1951, he served as Executive Officer on the USCG Cutter Matagorda out of Boston, Massachusetts, carrying out ocean station patrols and search and rescue duties. He then reported to Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, D.C. for duty in the Naval Engineering Division.
From September 1952 to June 1954, he was assigned as a student at the Massachusetss Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering in June 1954. During the following three years, he served as Officer-in-Charge of the Electronics Engineering Laboratory at Coast Guard Station, Alexandria, Virginia.
From August 1957 to March 1959, he commanded the Tender USCGC Clover in Kodiak, Alaska, servicing aids to navigation along the Aleutian Chain and in the Bering Sea. He then returned to Headquarters to serve as Chief, Loran-A Section in Electronics Engineering Division.
In August 1961, he returned to Alaska to become Chief, Electronics Engineering Branch in the Seventeenth Coast Guard District Office in Juneau for three years. In June 1964, he became Executive Officer on the USCGC Taney, based at Alameda, California.
Returning to Headquarters in September 1966, he was assigned to the Electronics Engineering Division, first as Assistant Chief until July 1968, and then as Chief of the Division until May 1970. At that time, he transferred to the Fourteenth Coast Guard District at Honolulu, Hawaii to become Chief, Engineering Division.
In June 1972, he was transferred to Fuchu, Japan to serve as Commander of the Coast Guard’s Far East Section.
Admiral Stewart was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral on July 1, 1974 and assigned to duty in Boston, Massachusetts, as Commander, First Coast Guard District.
In June 1977, he assumed the post of Chief, Office of Research and Development at Coast Guard Headquarters. He remained at Headquarters for his next appointment as Chief of Staff of the Coast Guard.
Admiral Stewart was promoted to Vice Admiral in June 1981 where he then assumed his present post as Commander, Pacific Area and Third Coast Guard District.
Chronology of Coast Guard Promotions
Following his initial appointment as Ensign on June 5, 1946, he was subsequently promoted as follows: Lieutenant (Junior Grade) on September 15, 1948; Lieutenant on October 29, 1951; Lieutenant Commander on July 1, 1957; Commander on April 1, 1964; Captain on July 1, 1968; Rear Admiral on July 1, 1974 and Vice Admiral on June 17, 1981.
Medals and Awards
Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Coast Guard Commendation Medal and Commandant’s Letter of Commendation.