Posted on May 26, 2025
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has announced that President Donald J. Trump has nominated Admiral Kevin E. Lunday to serve as the 28th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. Lunday, who has been serving as Acting Commandant since January 21, 2025, will continue in that capacity until confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
“Now is the time for fundamental change,” said Lunday. “Secretary Noem has said that we must reinvigorate the Coast Guard or risk strategic failure. I am honored to lead our Coast Guard men and women in this historic effort to renew the service for the future.”
Admiral Kevin E. Lunday, who assumed the duties of Acting Commandant earlier this year, leads the 56,000 men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard as part of the Department of Homeland Security team protecting America and one of the six military services and part of the joint force defending it. As a maritime nation, the U.S. relies on a strong Coast Guard to assure our national security. We control the U.S. maritime borders and approaches and protect U.S. sovereignty. We assure the operation, security, and defense of U.S. maritime critical infrastructure-vital to America’s economic prosperity and strategic mobility. We save lives through prevention and rescuing those in distress at sea. We conduct maritime law enforcement, military operations, and safeguard navigation on the high seas and navigable waters of the U.S., including operations in the Arctic, IndoPacific, and Atlantic Oceans. We protect the marine environment and our living marine resources. We remain Semper Paratus – Always Ready in service to the American people.
Admiral Lunday previously served as the 34th Vice Commandant from June 2024. Before that, he served as Commander, Atlantic Area where he directed operations from the Navigable Inland Waterways east of the Rocky Mountains to the Great Lakes, Gulf Coast, and East Coast of the U.S. throughout the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent parts of the Arctic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf. Admiral Lunday has extensive experience in the IndoPacific where he served as Commander of the Fourteenth Coast Guard District, directing operations throughout Oceania, including Hawai’i, American Samoa, Guam, and the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, as well as activities in Japan and Singapore.
Experienced in operational and technical cyberspace operations, Admiral Lunday served as Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Cyber Command where he directed the operation, maneuver, and defense of the Coast Guard Enterprise Mission Platform as part of Department of Defense (DoD) networks. He also directed remote and deployable cyberspace operations to protect U.S. maritime critical infrastructure from cyberattack. Prior to this role he served as Director of Exercises and Training (J7), U.S. Cyber Command where he directed the joint training and certification of the DoD Cyber Mission Force, the nation’s cyberspace warriors.
Admiral Lunday is a career national security attorney and judge advocate. He is a Distinguished Graduate of the National War College with a Master of Science in National Security Strategy, and graduate of the Naval War College with distinction. He holds a Juris Doctor with high honors from George Washington University Law School and Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering with honors from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He has earned numerous personal, team, and campaign awards during 38 years of service.
