BOSTON — On Friday, May 10, 2024, the Coast Guard held a change of command ceremony for the First Coast Guard District commander at Coast Guard Base Boston.
During the ceremony, Rear Adm. Michael Platt relieved Rear Adm. John Mauger as the commander of the First Coast Guard District, as the first African-American servicemember to assume the role. Vice Adm. Kevin Lunday, commander Coast Guard Atlantic Area, presided over the ceremony.
Platt arrived from the Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he served as Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and was responsible for providing counsel to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary regarding policies, plans, and other affairs between the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense.
Platt previously served as the Executive Assistant to the 26th Commandant of the Coast Guard, providing senior executive decision support, advice, and recommendations to shape, communicate, and carry out strategic direction, policy, and internal/external communications. He also served in six Coast Guard aviation units. During his career, he accumulated over 3,600 hours of flight time in the MH-65 helicopter and the HC- 144 airplane.
Platt is a native of Boston and entered the Coast Guard through the College Student Pre-Commissioning Initiative (CSPI). He graduated from Hampton University with a Bachelor of Science, American Military University with a Master of Science, and the National War College with a Master of Science in National Security Strategy. Rear Admiral Platt was a 2014 MIT Seminar XXI Fellow and is an alumnus of Harvard’s National Preparedness Leadership Initiative.
The First District includes over 12,000 active duty, reserve, civil servant, and auxiliary personnel. In an average year, the First Coast Guard District saves 427 lives, conducts 2,392 search and rescue cases, assists 4,536 people, and safeguards approximately $115,000,000 in property at sea.
The change-of-command ceremony is a time-honored military tradition that marks a transfer of total responsibility and authority from one individual to another. The ceremony formally demonstrates the continuity of authority within a U.S. military command.
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