About the Career of Rear Admiral Peter J. Brown, Assistant Commandant for Response Policy, U.S. Coast Guard
Originally from Somers, NY, Rear Admiral Brown is a 1985 graduate of the U. S. Coast Guard Academy with a Bachelor’s degree in chemistry.
His Coast Guard career has primarily focused on sea duty and tactical law enforcement, with 4 afloat and 3 TACLET/LEDET tours of duty, including command of TACLET South in Miami Florida, from 2000 to 2002 and USCGC BOUTWELL (WHEC 719) Alameda, CA from 2006 to 2008. Under his command, BOUTWELL interdicted 5 drug trafficking vessels which were transporting over 13 metric tons of cocaine, a migrant smuggling vessel with 128 undocumented migrants aboard, and 6 foreign fishing vessels that were using internationally banned High Seas Drift Nets. More recently, he served as the Chief of Response for the Seventh Coast Guard District, with responsibility for search and rescue, maritime law enforcement, and international operations, including disaster relief, in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida and throughout the Caribbean. In July, 2011, he became the Chief of Staff for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, headquartered in Portsmouth, VA.
Promoted to flag rank in 2013, Rear Admiral Brown oversees the development of strategic response doctrine and policy guidance for all Coast Guard forces. These policies encompass seven of the eleven operational maritime missions in the areas of law enforcement, search and rescue, counterterrorism and defense operations, oil spill response, incident management and preparedness, and contingency exercise programs.
Rear Admiral Brown earned a Master’s degree in chemistry at the University of Miami in 1991 and taught chemistry at the Coast Guard Academy from 1991-95. While teaching, he worked with the Coast Guard’s Research and Development Center in the testing of emerging drug detection technologies, paving the way for the deployment of advanced analytical chemical instruments at sea for law enforcement. During the same period, he also earned a law degree from the University of Connecticut. His awards include the Legion of Merit, 5 Meritorious Service Medals, 2 Commendation Medals, 3 Achievement Medals, and numerous unit and team awards.
