COMMANDER, USCG SECTOR NEW YORK

ROBERT R. O'BRIEN JR
CAPTAIN, U.S. COAST GUARD

Captain Robert R. O'Brien assumed Captain of the Port NY/NJ and Commander of Coast Guard Sector New York on June 15, 2006. This is the largest operational field command in the Coast Guard encompassing all Coast Guard security, safety and environmental protection missions in the Metropolitan New York/New Jersey area.

CAPT O'Brien began his enlisted career aboard USCGC LAUREL Atlantic Beach, North Carolina. He transferred to Group Fort Macon as a SAR coxswain and then to Aids to Navigation Team (ANT) Fort Macon as Executive Petty Officer. In 1976 he was assigned as Officer-in-Charge (OINC) of USCGC BLACKBERRY at Oak Island, North Carolina, and then became OINC, ANT St. Simon's Island, Georgia, in 1978. Upon promotion to Chief Boatswain's Mate in 1979, he was transferred to the largest ANT in the Atlantic Area as OINC. Following his promotion in June of 1980 to Chief Warrant Officer, he became CO of ANT Long Island Sound, New Haven, Connecticut. He was assigned later that year to the Marine Safety Office in Baltimore, Maryland.

CAPT O'Brien received his commission as a Lieutenant junior grade in 1983. He was assigned to MSO Galveston, Texas, where he served as a marine inspector of drilling platforms in the offshore oil/gas exploration industry. As a Lieutenant, he became Supervisor of the Marine Safety Detachment in Marietta, Ohio. Following the unit's closure in 1988, he was assigned to MSO Detroit where he served as Chief of the Port Operations and Inspections Departments and later, as the unit's Executive Officer. In 1991, CAPT O'Brien returned to the Fifth Coast Guard District Office in Portsmouth, Virginia, as Chief of Maritime Investigations, where he was promoted to Lieutenant Commander in 1992. In 1995, CAPT O'Brien was transferred to MSO Hampton Roads, Virginia, where he served as the Chief of Planning, the Assistant Chief of Port Operations and upon promotion to Commander in 1998 as Chief of the Vessel Compliance Department. In 1999 CAPT O'Brien was assigned to MSO Memphis as Commanding Officer. In 2002 he received orders to Washington, DC where he served with the US Navy as the Coast Guard Liaison to Military Sealift Command. In 2003 he was promoted to Captain and reassigned to MSO Hampton Roads as Commanding Officer, Captain of the Port, Officer in Charge Marine Inspection and Federal Maritime Security Coordinator. In 2005 MSO Hampton Roads, Group Hampton Roads and Group Eastern Shore merged to become Sector Hampton Roads. Captain O'Brien assumed command of Sector Hampton Roads in July 2005.

Captain O'Brien has received numerous personal, unit and team awards during his Coast Guard Career. CAPT O'Brien and his wife, Martha have three children. Reid is a Video Editor for NASCAR and 20th Century Fox and he lives in Cornelius, NC. Jennifer a registered Dietitian also lives in Cornelius, NC. Caroline and her husband Tim Bosi and their son, Andrew, live in Mooresville, NC.

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