Rear Admiral Stephen P. Metruck assumed command of the Fifth Coast Guard District in April 2014. In this capacity, he had the overall responsibility for the full range of Coast Guard maritime safety and security missions carried out in the mid-Atlantic region from central New Jersey through North Carolina. This area encompasses 156,000 square miles of ocean, bays, and rivers that are unique and filled with historical significance, several major mid-Atlantic ports, the largest naval base in the world, and our Nation’s Capital. Rear Admiral Metruck led 67 units made up of 2,475 active duty members, 1010 reservists, 6,800 Auxiliary members, and 120 civilians. Prior to arriving at the Fifth Coast Guard District he was the Assistant Commandant for Resources and Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard. During this assignment, he was responsible for all Coast Guard financial management and resource activities including planning, programming, budgeting, and execution of the service’s $10 billion annual appropriation.
After an initial tour afloat aboard Coast Guard Cutter DURABLE, Rear Admiral Metruck has operationally served principally in the Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection mission areas, including field assignments at Coast Guard Headquarters, and Marine Safety Offices Tampa, Florida and Buffalo, New York.
For three years following the attacks of 9/11, Rear Admiral Metruck served as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Safety Office in San Diego, California where he implemented security strategies in one of the nation's most strategic ports. He was later assigned as Commander of Sector Seattle serving as Federal Maritime Security Coordinator, Federal On Scene Coordinator for oil spills and hazardous substances, Captain of the Port, and Officer in Charge Marine Inspection for all of Puget Sound. Rear Admiral Metruck then served as the Chief of Staff for the Eleventh Coast Guard District overseeing Coast Guard missions across waterways encompassing the states of California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and the offshore waters of Mexico and Central America.
He has also served in special assignments as a Congressional Fellow to Senator John F. Kerry of Massachusetts and U.S. Coast Guard Liaison to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York City.
Rear Admiral Metruck is the son of the late Stephen and Marylou Metruck, a native of Massena, New York and a 1982 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. He was awarded a Master's Degree in Public Administration from the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. He has also served as a Military Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC and the Coast Guard Fellow on the Chief of Naval Operation's Strategic Studies Group based in Newport, Rhode Island. Rear Admiral Metruck’s personal decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Coast Guard Commendation Medal, the Department of Transportation 9-11 Medal, and the Coast Guard Achievement Medal.
Rear Admiral Metruck retired on 1 July 2016.