Rear Admiral Vincent B. Atkins assumed duties as Commander, Fourteenth Coast Guard District in May 2015. The area of responsibility spans over 12.2 million square miles and includes the Hawaiian Islands, Guam, American Samoa and activities in Saipan, Singapore and Japan. This encompasses a region nearly three times the size of the continental United States.
Prior to reporting to District 14, Rear Admiral Atkins served at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters as the Deputy for Operations Policy and Capabilities, overseeing the integration of all operations, capability, strategy, and resource policy.
His previous Flag staff assignments include Director of Operations (J3), U. S. Southern Command, directing all U.S. military operations in the Caribbean, Central and South America; and Assistant Commandant for Capability, responsible for delivering service-wide capabilities and developing standards for staffing, training, and equipping all Coast Guard forces. Rear Admiral Atkins is a Cutterman with service on board five U. S. Coast Guard Cutters, including Commanding Officer of USCGC DURABLE.
Operational assignments ashore have included Liaison Officer to the Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands, Saipan, Commonwealth of the Mariana Islands; Operations Officer, Marianas Section, Guam; Liaison to the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, San Francisco, California; Chief, Cutter Forces Atlantic Area, responsible for all major cutter forces operating in the Atlantic, Caribbean and Southwest Asia theaters; Sector Commander and Captain of the Port, Honolulu, Hawaii.
His Headquarters staff assignments include the Office of Logistics Management; the Office of Program and Budget; Deputy, Response Policy; and Executive Assistant to the Commandant.
Rear Admiral Atkins is from San Antonio, Texas and is a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Government. He also holds a Master of Science in Management from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School; and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies, with distinction, from the U.S. Naval War College.
Rear Admiral Atkins’ military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, three Legion of Merit Medals, five Meritorious Service Medals, the 9/11 Medal and other various personal, unit and campaign awards.
He retired on 1 July 2018.