From the WaPo:
By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 7, 2005; Page A23
With Michael D. Brown, the embattled public face of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, taking harsh criticism for the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina, the secretary of homeland security this week assigned a top Coast Guard official to help bail him out.
Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen, the Coast Guard's chief of staff, was assigned on Monday to be Brown's deputy and to take over operational control of the search-and-rescue and recovery efforts along the Gulf Coast. The unprecedented task of coordinating the massive effort was handed off to a leader and expert who was described by colleagues as unflappable, engaging and intensely organized.
Allen is also familiar with the inner workings of the Department of Homeland Security, where the Coast Guard has landed alongside FEMA as one of the designated main protectors of the United States. Allen has been one of the primary shepherds of change at the Coast Guard since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and has been praised for his ability to reach out to other agencies to develop "big-picture" approaches to homeland defense.
Retired Adm. James M. Loy, former commandant of the Coast Guard and former deputy secretary of Homeland Security, said yesterday that Allen has the experience to help steer the federal response to the Katrina catastrophe in the right direction after early shortfalls. When Loy was the Coast Guard chief of staff from 1996 to 1998, Allen was his resource director, and Loy said he "always brings a new idea per minute to the table as far as how to grapple with difficult situations."
Link to full story:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090601677.htmlFrom the Coast Guard web site:
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/comrel/factfile/factcards/BioGCCS.htmlVice Admiral Thad W. Allen
Chief of Staff
United States Coast Guard
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note: image from elsewhere - USCG site image was huge)
Vice Admiral Thad W. Allen assumed duties as Chief of Staff, U.S. Coast Guard and Commanding Officer, Coast Guard Headquarters, Washington, DC in May 2002. Vice Admiral Allen is third in command of the Coast Guard. VADM Allen serves as the Coast Guard’s Transition Director for the transfer of the Coast Guard from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Homeland Security.
Prior to this assignment he served as Commander, Coast Guard Atlantic Area, Fifth Coast Guard District; and U.S. maritime Defense Zone, Atlantic where he was the operational commander for all Coast Guard activities in an area of responsibility spanning five Coast Guard Districts, over 14 million square miles, involving 26,000 military and civilian employees, and 27,900 auxiliarists. He served concurrently as Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District, and Commander U.S. Maritime Defense Zone Atlantic. VADM Allen lead Atlantic forces in the Coast Guard’s response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001
In his previous flag assignments he commanded the Seventh Coast Guard District and directed all Coast Guard operations in South Carolina, Georgia, most of Florida and throughout the Caribbean; and was the Coast Guard's Director of Resources, where he was responsible for formulating the Coast Guard's budget, developing long range plans, and managing the Coast Guard's performance plan.
A specialist in operations both in the coastal and offshore environments, Vice Admiral Allen has served in three Coast Guard cutters ANDROSCOGGIN and GALLATIN, and command of the medium endurance cutter CITRUS. His coastal operations command assignments include Captain of the Port / Group Long Island Sound, CT; Group Atlantic City, NJ, and LORAN Station Lampang, Thailand. Vice Admiral Allen's other assignments included a tour as search and rescue controller in the Greater Antilles Section, San Juan, Puerto Rico; Intelligence Watch Officer at DEA/INS El Paso Intelligence Center, El Paso, TX; Chief Budget Officer, Maintenance and Logistics Command, Atlantic, Governors Island, NY; Deputy Project Manager, Fleet Modernization and Rehabilitation (FRAM) Project, and Assistant Division Chief, Programs Division, Office of the Chief of Staff, Coast Guard Headquarters.
Vice Admiral Allen is a native of Tucson, AZ. He graduated from the U. S. Coast Guard Academy in 1971. He holds a Master of Public Administration degree from the George Washington University and received the 2000 Distinguished Alumni Award. He also holds a Master of Science degree from the Sloan School of Management of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
What do we know about this guy?